


Speak now, or forever hold your peace.

by hasitsclaws



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake!Married, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-12 04:36:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 93,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2096016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hasitsclaws/pseuds/hasitsclaws
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seth Gecko is doing your usual, run-of-the-mill drug smuggling gig when he finds out he's going to be deported. His brother's solution to the problem? Get married, of course. All Seth has to do is find a nice woman willing to be his "wife" until he gets his green card, and Richie has an idea as to who's the perfect girl for the job.</p><p>Only problem is, Kate Fuller is a lot more than either of the Gecko brothers bargained for.</p><p>(Fake!Married AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to give Seth Gecko a fucking aneurysm.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by some wonderful people on tumblr. One hour long post discussion later, and here we are, another au that should be a one shot but has been turned into a multi because it started out as fic, how did it end up like this, it was only a fic, it was only a fic! And now it's a long ass story yep.
> 
> Hope you like it though; it's pretty entertaining to write.

* * *

 

 

 

Seth Gecko is doing your usual, run-of-the-mill drug smuggling gig when he finds out that he’s going to be deported back into the country he’s now trying to trick his way out of.

“ _What_?!” Seth practically shouts into the cell phone he has in hand, looks up through the windshield at the border patrol officer handling his entrance line and begins to sweat. “You’d better be shitting me, Richard.”

"Afraid not, Margaret Tate," Richie says, and Seth just _knows_ his bastard of a brother is smirking right now. Richie’s lucky he landed himself a broken leg on their last job and is sat at home ‘ _recuperating_ ,’ otherwise Seth would be punching him in his pretty-boy face right now. “I just read the official notice.”

"You were going through _my_ mail?” Seth snaps, pulls the car up a little ways in line and flinches as he hears a detection dog bark, hanging idly on the sidelines along with a gaggle of cranky looking officers.

"Duh," Richie says, tone dismissive. "Anyways, you know Carlos is going to have your balls for this. If you’re not here to, ah, be apart of the, um,  _big deal_ , he has pending six months from now, he’s going to tear your head off and shit down your throat.”

"How eloquently put, Richard," Seth frowns, presses the receiver tighter to his ear and pulls the car to a halt at the inspection gates.

"You’ve got a month before they kick you out to good ol’ Me-he-co," Richie says, and Seth can hear him shuffling papers while simultaneously popping the top to a soda can. It’s nice to know that Richie’s taking the threat of his brother being kicked out of the U.S. so nonchalantly.

"So what the fuck do you propose I do to remedy this situation?" Seth asks, rolling down his window as the officer handling his line signals for him to do so.

This part of the job he’s done a million times and he’s not worried about it. But then Richie goes and answers him, and Seth ends up turning into a flabbergasted, anxious mess.

“Get married, idiot,” Richie says, and the officer looks at Seth with concern as the eldest Gecko drops the phone in his hand and stares out the windshield like he’s just been told that fucking vampires exist, and they work in a goddamn strip club for a living.

 

* * *

 

"That'll be ten-fifty," Kate says, smiles warmly at the grumbling customer in front of her and takes the twenty dollar bill he hands off.

She makes the man's change and gives it back to him as well as his tray of food, grinning so hard she thinks her face is going to fall off. As soon as the man has turned away, however, Kate lets out a deep breath, expression settling into a scowl.

To say she hates working at the local Kahuna Burger is an understatement. _Loathes entirely_ would be more accurate, but Kate was raised on the _What Would Jesus Do?_ mentality and she knows she can't be too mean about it, because she doesn't understand other peoples' situations. They could be grumpy because they don't like their job or something, and Kate can identify with that. 

But she also knows she can't be completely ungrateful for this job. Kahuna pays a little higher than minimum wage here in Texas (ten cents more an hour is still ten cents more an hour when you're desperate), and the her coworkers are pretty cool people, as long as you don't include the general manager in the tally. Not to mention that a job is a _job_ with only a high school education under your belt, and this one pays most of the rent so Kate's stuck with it until further economic advances. Even if working here always makes her smell like a grease bucket no matter how many times she washes her uniform.

So Kate sucks up her woes and rings in the next customer, fake smile back in place. It's easy enough to pretend like everything in your life is fine when the customers don't really care about you until you get their order wrong-- even then, they usually just end up yelling at you instead of asking why you're having such a bad day. So Kate simply gives the customer their tray, makes sure there's no one left in line, and grabs a mop to start sopping up leftover, sticky soda spills by the fountains, counting down the minutes until the end of her shift.

Sometimes Kate wants to be irrationally angry that this is what her life's turned into-- this monogamous routine of get up, make her brother breakfast, ship him off to high school, come to work, go home, pay bills, go to sleep. Sometimes she wants to blame her mother for killing herself, her father for giving up afterwards and dying of a broken heart. The death of Kate's parents left her and her brother, Scott, with nothing once all the medical and funeral bills were paid, and now they're lucky to eat something besides leftover Hamburger Helper, much less look forwards to the lives they'd envisioned for themselves before their parents died.

Kate was going to go to college in the big city, become a nurse or maybe even a teacher. Scott wanted to go to N.Y.U. to become a graphic designer and write comic books. Now it'd be a miracle for either one of them to go to college _ever_ \-- they can barely afford the rent on their small, one-bedroom apartment just outside of Del Rio. Kate had thought moving here would be easier, that getting out of their home town of Bethel would lessen the pain of their parents being gone. She was wrong though-- so far living here is just more expensive.

But there isn't much she can do to change it. This is the card life has dealt her, and even though Kate's lost a lot of her faith lately, she still knows that everything happens for a reason. She knows she has to keep trying, has to keep  _living_ because Scott needs her. People are always stronger when they're together, and Kate and Scott have already lost too many people to lose each other, too. Kate knows that if she left her brother, if her brother left her, their entire world would come crumbling apart.

So she works her ass off to give Scott everything he needs, and Scott works his ass off to get the good grades that Kate hopes for him to have. If there's even a marginal chance of him going to college, he's got to get scholarships. Being in crippling financial dept at nineteen has made it so Kate's credit is terrible, and there isn't even a question of her trying to cosign for Scott to get college loans. 

"I'm so sorry I can't do that for you," she told Scott last Christmas, when she got him a cheap art set and his eyes lit up before getting very somber again, knowing that for right now and the foreseeable future, it can be nothing more to him than a hobby instead of a living.

"It's okay," Scott said, because he's always trying to lessen her burdens when he shouldn't have to-- he's barely eighteen, just turned it in October and Kate thinks it isn't fair he had to grow up so fast after her parents died. She's come to accept the fact that she had to take responsibility for her family once all was said and done, but she's irrationally mad at the world that Scott had to throw his childhood away so fast, too.

Because Scott should be out with friends, on date, doing stupid, silly things instead of helping Kate pay rent by picking up stray neighborhood jobs after he's done with his homework. Sometimes Kate wishes she could be doing the same, not having a care in the world instead of having to work a ten hour shift to pay the water bill due this Thursday.

Thankfully Kate's off shift an hour later, punches out so fast she could fracture her wrist.

"You're sure glad to be going home," says Alejandro, the line cook; he's got a hand-rolled cigarette tucked behind his ear as always, and is looking at Kate and her frenzied state in amusement.

"Yeah, you got a man waiting for you, _chica_?" asks Gabriela, the main drive-through attendant; her wildly curly hair is done up today, and Kate notices she has it tied-off with the string hairband Kate made the woman for her twenty-eighth birthday two weeks ago.

An irrational blush heats Kate's cheeks at Gabriela's comment, embarrassment taking root in her chest. Here in the city, people are pretty open about relationships and sex. Back in Bethel anything intimate was a taboo, and even the one boyfriend Kate's ever had would never go any farther with her than French kissing. Granted, he let her French him in her daddy's church one time, but that was _one_ time and said boyfriend, Kyle, had made a big deal about it being a sin afterward and made Kate feel ashamed of her own desires.

Sometimes she's really glad she broke up with Kyle after her mom died.

"Not unless you count my bratty little brother," Kate shrugs jokingly, stifling her chagrin as she pulls off her apron and grabs her purse out of its cubby. "Gotta make dinner."

"Want some of the reject pile burgers to take home?" Alejandro asks, because as much and he and Gabriela like to mess with Kate, they also like to try and take care of her in any small favor they can spare.

"No thanks," Kate says, making a face. "If I eat one more of those things, my intestines are going to fall out."

"Amen, _damita_. Amen," Alejandro says, saluting Kate as she makes for the back door.

"Be safe!" Gabriela calls after, and Kate gives them a small wave and her first real smile of the day before walking to the bus stop.

For clarity, Kate _can_ drive. The thing is, she doesn't have a car to do so with. The only one her family had was wrecked when her mother died, and instantly after that her father got sick and they couldn't afford to repair their old Volvo. He had to quit his job as the local preacher and was admitted to the hospital, where the doctors said that there was no better diagnosis to give other than that he didn't want to live anymore, so his body was giving up. He'd lost his wife, and in turn his faith-- without God to dote on, Kate knew her dad wasn't going to recover.

Still, Kate had spent weeks and weeks screaming at her dad to get up, to just _try_.

But he never had, and not even two days after Kate graduated high school, he died. The medical bills combined with that of the expenses of two funerals had made it so that the idea of even leasing a car was laughable. Kate had to sell her and Scott's childhood home immediately, relocate them out here to their crappy apartment in an even crappier neighborhood.

They've got no distant relatives to speak of, no mysterious aunts or uncles with money just waiting to come save the day. They're just lucky Scott's got a late birthday and was too close to eighteen for the courts to throw him into foster care if Kate appealed the verdict. Kate still takes time every night to thank a God she kind of sort of believes in that she gets to keep Scott when she's lost everyone else, that even though they're poor and miserable, they have each other.

The bus ride to the apartment is quiet and Kate stares out the window longingly, wishing she could be going home-- her _real_ home-- right now. She wishes she could find her mom in the kitchen making dinner, while her dad watches the nightly news and Scott sits there scribbling away at some comic page. She wishes her life could be normal again and that she could've acted like a naive little girl for a bit longer.

When Kate finally gets into the apartment (after kicking the door-jam a few times, might she add, because the pig of a landlord refuses to fix the broken frame), it's to see Scott draped out over their thrift-store couch doing homework. Kate knows that if there's one good thing about this whole mess, it's that it gave Scott an excuse to get away from their old high school and all the bullies who tormented him there. He likes his new school well enough, has made a few friends, even.

More than anything in this world, Kate wants Scott to make it in life; she wants to help him to find the place where he belongs.

Kate, she isn't brave like that; she does what she does in order to  _survive_ , not to live.

"Hey," Kate says, setting her keys and purse down on their lop-sided kitchen table, the one thing they were able to salvage from their old house before the church repossessed it.

"Hey," Scott says back simply. "How was work?"

"Horrendous," Kate says, plopping down on the floor next to the swell of his knee. "I got into a fight with an old lady because she wanted three sauce cups and we can only give out two with a standard meal."

"Harsh," Scott chuckles, picks a strand of Kate's hair out of her face and toys with it idly.

Before their parents died, Kate and Scott weren't close. They had been when they were children-- practically inseparable, even-- but as they got older, they grew apart. Kate was part of the "popular" crowd in high school because she was on swim team and vice president of the student government, and Kyle had been the school quarterback so she got even more recognition because of dating him. Between practice, school events, homework, church functions and hanging out with her friends, Kate had forgotten to pay attention to her little brother. She didn't even know how awful everyone at school was to Scott until after they left Bethel. When Scott finally told her he was made fun of every day at school, beat-up, outcast, Kate felt like the worst big sister ever. She'd been so caught up in her own life she'd forgotten about her family's feelings-- she hadn't even known her mom had been depressed, for Christ's sake.

She tries a lot harder now to pay as much attention to Scott as she can, because they're all each other's got, and that means something.

"You ever think it's gonna get any better?" he asks after a moment, and Kate smiles up at him sadly in reply because she's also never been one to lie.

"Not unless some knight in shining armor comes to whisk us off to fairytale land," she says, eyes threatening to water as the weight of the words hit her. "But that's only make believe."

 

* * *

 

"Fuck. _Fuck_. FUCK!"

Richie stands off to the side of the parking lot and watches Seth have his little temper tantrum, kicking at weeds and gravel, swirling around like a madman. For a minute Richie wonders if he should wheel-in and stop Seth before he draws a crowd, but then figures better of it because, at the moment, Seth would probably break his cast in half in retaliation.

Sighing, Richie wheels himself over to the van Carlos lent them until his leg heals and opens the door, shuffling himself into the back seat. He waits for another five minutes before Seth comes over grumbling, throwing Richie's wheel chair in back with him before getting into the driver's side and slamming the door shut.

"I can't fucking believe they denied my appeal," Seth scowls, backing out of the lot quickly and hitting the curb as they exit onto the road.

"You've been an illegal immigrant in the U.S. way past 1997, Seth, of course they denied your appeal. Like I said, the only way you're going to get out of this one is if it you get married. There's a wavier from that that allows you to slip past the INA," Richie shrugs, pulls a pack of Red Apples out of his suit jacket and lights up.

Since breaking his leg about a month ago, he's increased the speed of killing his lungs in lieu of nothing else to do. Another eight weeks in this dumb wheelchair and he's going to end up developing lung cancer, probably.

"I've been married before, Richard," Seth snaps. "In case you don't remember, it didn't work out."

"Vanessa's a bitch," Richie says, waving a hand flippantly and swirling smoke around his seat.

"She is _not_ a bitch," Seth yells, swerving violently around a car not going fast enough for his liking. "We just weren't good married."

"I told you not to marry someone after you'd only known her six weeks," Richie smirks.

"Yeah?" Seth asks, glances back at him the rear view mirror with a glare. "Well, guess what, genius. I've got _**three** weeks_ until they deport my ass, so if I really do go through with the marriage bit, I'll be marrying someone a lot quicker than I got hitched to Vanessa."

"But it's not like it'd be real," Richie says.

"What the fuck do you mean?" Seth answers.

"You pay someone to do it, duh," Richie says, because it's obvious but Seth's too dense to get the plan through his thick skull; there's a reason Richie always does the blue prints for their jobs. "Make all nicey-nicey and take some wedding photos, maybe one every year on your anniversary. Then bada-bing, bada-boom, in three to five years, you'll have your green card and you can get a divorce. And keep your head, seeing as how Carlos won't kill you for getting deported right before the big deal that way."

"Yes, because it's really as simple as paying off someone to be my wife, Richard," Seth scoffs. "You're so clever."

"Pay a prostitute for all I care," Richie snorts, leaning back in his seat and wincing when it pulls at his bad leg. "We've got the money thanks to the last job. A spare hundred thousand thrown at someone just to sign a few slips of paper and take a few pictures really isn't that bad of a deal."

"And you really think we're not going to get caught?" Seth says dryly, nearly running a red.

"Not as long as no one else knows what's going on," Richie shrugs.

"What about Carlos?" Seth asks.

"If he knows you came within a fucking space-span close to wrecking the big deal, he'll fucking kill you," Richie says. "Believe it or not, you're not one of his favorites. Me neither. He only keeps us around because he owes it to Uncle Eddie's memory."

"He just hates us 'cause Dad fucked him over in Tampa that one time," Seth sighs, itching at his brow in nervous gesture as his foot begins to lessen on the accelerator. "Then again, Dad fucked everyone over. He fucked _me_ over by not marrying Mom before he got her pregnant and popped me out in Mexico."

"He's fucked you over worse than that," Richie says, something dark stirring up in him at memories of their father. He still sees flames when he closes his eyes, still wants to strike that match again and again if only to keep Seth safe.

"Yeah, but at least he gave you the courtesy of letting you be born Americano," Seth grumbles, and the van lapses into silence.

Richie stares out the window for a while as they drive, seeing faceless people pass by on the streets. He's been taking his medicine recently, so things aren't all weird when he looks at them anymore. Mostly they're just fuzzy, but he could also blame that phenomenon on the pain killers he takes for his leg, probably. Even so, sometimes he misses seeing things-- anymore it feels like he doesn't see the truth, and that irritates him a little, makes him feel like he doesn't belong even more than usual.

"So, I guess I'm really gonna fucking do this," Seth says eventually, bringing Richie out of his musings as he looks up at his brother and smiles, because Richie knew Seth would give into the plan sooner or later.

He always does.

"Yeah," Richie grins. "But first, let's get something to eat. I'm starving."

 

* * *

 

"Scott, have you seen my work pants?" Kate asks, popping her head out from the bedroom. It's only a big enough space for a twin, so Scott sleeps on the couch most nights, except for when things get really bad and he crawls in next to Kate like when they were kids and it was thundering outside, holding each other tight.

Scott snaps his head up from where he's hanging off one end of the sofa, PSP in his hands since he's got a half-day with school drawing towards a close and has nothing better to do now but fry his head with video games. Then again, the PSP was the one luxury Kate's tried very hard to let him keep, as well as the fact she refuses to let him have a job other than doing yard work and menial old-lady hired chores because she wants him to focus on school. "Did you leave them in the dryer downstairs?" Scott asks.

"Shit!" Kate says, runs from the apartment in just her underwear and bathrobe, having enough sense to grab her keys at least.

Scott laughs at the sight of it and Kate flips him the bird before closing the front door. There was a time when she never, ever cursed because it was a sin. But that was back before reality set in, when Kate was still in a dream of Biblical-versed childhood. Now she cusses whenever she wants to because she has bigger worries than getting into Heaven or staying out of Hell at the moment-- like not being late for work.

Sure enough though, she  _has_ left her work pants in the laundry room downstairs. And, of course, because their neighbors are a bunch of assholes, someone took Kate's pants out before they were dry all the way and threw them onto the washer so the dryer was no longer occupied. Groaning, Kate scoops the semi-wet garment up and stuffs it on under her robe, freezing in place when she hears someone clear their throat behind her.

Turning, Kate finds her landlord, Mr. Randall, leering her way from the laundry room entrance. "Rent's due this Friday, girly," he says, pale skin looking sickly in the bright florescents. 

"I'll have it," Kate says.

"You were late last month," Mr. Randall scowls, taking a few steps towards her. "If we need to work out an arrangement for payment..." 

He reaches for Kate suggestively but she ducks past him, years of being on swim team having given her quick reflexes. "I'll have it," she says firmly, rushing up the stairs and back into her apartment.

Kate really,  _really_ hates living here sometimes. Mr. Randall is the biggest cheapskate she's ever met, and he's always raising the rent for unknown reasons. If she could, Kate would move her and Scott out of here in a heartbeat. Kate only brought them to Del Rio specifically because she saw these apartments listed as cheap, and Kahuna was willing to hire her on-spot. Any other complex in this town is too expensive though, and living outside of the city would mean too much travel for work. Kate's tried looking for other jobs in other cities, but with the recession there isn't much and she doesn't have time to spare. Going through interviews would take too long, and her and Scott would starve before she ever got another job without some money saved up to live off of until then-- and Kate definitely has no money she can spare to put back. All of her paychecks are broken up to pay for bills and groceries the moment she claims them.

"Your hair is doing that weird matt-y thing again," Scott comments as Kate stuffs on the rest of her uniform, trying in vain to tame her hair into place under her hat.

"Yeah, well," she says, grabbing her purse in the middle of putting on her shoes. "Not all of us are super models."

"Have a good day!" Scott calls out after her, and Kate sticks her tongue out at him from where she rushes through the door-frame.

"Love you," she says.

"Love you, too," Scott laughs.

Kate makes it to work with one minute to spare, clocks in and waves to Alejandro, who quickly motions her over before she can take place up at the front counter. "The boss is here," Alejandro says, and Kate pales, because, _great_ , her day just can't get any worse, can it?

The ' _boss_ ' is their general manager-- a small, pudgy white guy by the name of Heinrich who has a God complex because he orders around underpaid fast food workers for a living. He likes to be especially mean to Kate because the district manager for the Texas chain of Kahuna Burger, Ally, likes her.

Today is no different, because when Kate goes to see her hours on the roster, she finds that they've been cut. Usually she's scheduled to work thirty-nine and a half hours a week, not enough to get full time benefits, but enough that she only has to clean a few old ladies' houses in between shifts to pay rent and utilities. This week, though, her hours are less than thirty, which means she actually  _won't_ be able to make rent or pay the water bill tomorrow like she needs to.

"Heinrich," Kate says when she spies the man ducking into the back office.

He stops, turns to her with a bored expression. "Yes, Fuller?" he asks.

"Why are my hours cut?" Kate asks, knowing full and well why when Heinrich grins a little at her question.

"Just not a busy season," he replies.

"Kids are getting out of school," Kate deadpans. "It's a really busy season."

"Hmm," Heinrich says, stares at her a moment longer before shrugging. "Back to work, Fuller."

Kate trudges up to the front counter with a scowl, takes some orders and tries to tally in her head how she's going to make up for the missing seventy-three dollars those cut hours are going to cost her. She's in the middle of wondering how much you make by selling your kidney on the black market when a pair of strange men enter, one in a wheel chair and the other standing stiff behind it.

She blinks at the sight because the men look like they're straight out of a Fifties romance movie, like James Dean, that actor Scott loves so much. The latter of the two is who draws her attention in most though, the way he looks so very stoic and yet so very... _not_ , at the same time. Kate focuses on that, remembers the way her momma used to say you can tell a lot about a person by how quietly they hold their anger inside of themselves.

Kate only has a moment to linger on it though before Gabriela calls her to the back to help her get a particularly heavy box of frozen french fries out of the freezer, pants stuck to Kate's legs because they're still a little damp.

 

* * *

Seth pulls them over at a Kahuna Burger just outside of Del Rio, the city they had to go to in order to try and appeal Seth's deportation case.

He's still fucking _pissed_ that the stupid government denied him. As far as his records go past juvenile age, he's an A-class citizen. Carlos wiped the slate clean, and Richie and Seth have never gotten caught while on a job. They maintain the image that they work in a shipping business of the legal kind, and make bank from it. Their house in San Antonio isn't too swanky to draw attention, and they're friends with the local cops, even.

Yet Seth is still considered an illegal immigrant, and he's going to have to marry a complete, goddamn stranger to keep himself from getting kicked out of the country. And, by default, keep himself from getting chopped up into little pieces and buried in a shallow grave like Carlos does to all his employees who fuck up.

For a moment Seth wishes that he still knew where Vanessa is, that he could beg his ex-wife to come back and marry him a second time. But then he thinks about the way they fought like cats and dogs, how many smashed plates went whirling by his head. Yeah, no, him and Vanessa could never fake being married when they couldn't even fake being married when they were actually _married_.

Groaning irately, Seth goes around to the side of the van to help Richie out. How the idiot managed to snap _both_ his fibula and tibia while running from a warring cartel mob, Seth still doesn't know. One minute they were sprinting for their lives, and the next Richie was taking a tumble down some dusty hill and screaming about how he was dead-- ' _I'm alive, but I'm definitely **dead** Seth! Holy fuck, it hurts!_ '

Now Seth has to be his brother's personal chauffeur for God knows how long, and the van they have to use to lug Richie's wheel-chair around is hideous. Before, they had a nice old Camaro that was the closest thing to a kid Seth ever considered himself having. They'll get it back when Richie can walk again, of course, but God does Seth miss the pur of the Camaro's engine over the clunk of the van's.

The Kahuna Burger isn't very busy, all things considered. It's the middle of a Wednesday afternoon, too late for a lunch rush and too early for a dinner one, and kids aren't out of school just yet. Seth pushes Richie up to the empty counter, tapping his foot impatiently as he waits for a cashier to come take their order.

"Great service," Seth mutters, mood still foul and impatient from earlier at the courthouse and his impending doom which is a fake marriage he has no idea how to go about setting up.

A minute later and Seth's about ready to start shouting at the people he can hear fucking around in the back, not doing their job, when a small, brown-haired girl walks up to the counter. Seth blinks at the sight of her, at the green of her eyes and softness of her skin. She can't be any older than twenty, and that's hitting high, but Seth still thinks she's really pretty.

_This deportation shit is fucking with my head,_ he grumbles to himself, because here he is staring at a girl who's nothing but jail bait like a fucking pervert.

Richie clears his throat from his chair and Seth looks down then, sees his brother's smirking face and scowls. "What?" Seth snaps.

"She asked what you want to order," Richie chuckles, and Seth doesn't like the smugness of it.

Seth looks back up at the girl, sees her smiling at him falsely and waiting. He prattles off the first thing on the menu, keeps looking at her as Richie takes more time picking what he wants. For her part, the girl doesn't seem phased by Richie's precise order, whereas most people look at Richie like he's a freak with how particular he is about his food.

"Coming right up," the girl says.

"Thanks, Kate," Richie grins as the girl turns to the back to start filling cups up with their beverages.

"How do you know her name is Kate?" Seth asks, something sharp in his chest that his brother's on a first-name basis with this girl and he's not.

"It says it on her name tag," Richie snorts.

"Whatever," Seth says, casting his eyes down to the floor.

They get their order a few minutes later and Seth steadily avoids looking at Kate this time, shoves the tray into Richie's lap and wheels him over to the nearest handicap table so they can sit and eat. Seth just picks at his food though, suddenly dry-mouthed and melancholy.

"You could just marry her you know," Richie says then, and Seth blinks up at his brother like Richie's just grown a second head.

"What?" Seth asks.

" _Her_ ," Richie says, nodding over to Kate where she's mopping the front counter with a rag, long brown hair falling over her shoulders in waves. "You have to be eighteen to work for this chain because they don't like when high school hours interfere with shifts-- which means she's legal. And obviously, if she works here, poor."

"She could be a college student," Seth says, still in shock over Richie's suggestion of Seth marrying some random teenage girl that he's just met.

"Not likely," Richie says. "She looks miserable, Seth. This is it for her. I'm sure she'd like the money."

"I can't just pimp teeny-bopper out because I like her fucking hair," Seth says before he can stop himself, takes a long sip out of his Coke and adverts his eyes from Richie's when his brother smirks again.

"You wouldn't be pimping her out, really," Richie says. "I mean, it's not like she has to fuck you. Just has to sign some papers and fake a ceremony."

"How do we even know she's American?" Seth asks, just trying to get Richie off of this insane subject.

"Please," Richie scoffs. "She's as cherry pie as it gets, Seth."

Seth glances over at Kate again, at her fair skin and bright eyes. She's tinier than he realized at first glance, fine-boned but filling out with curves. In a couple of years she's sure to be a knock-out, a stone-cold fox. Because, seriously, she's really fucking pretty. But he shouldn't be thinking that considering he's probably old enough to be the girl's father, and he really isn't up for a marriage where his wife calls him _daddy_ and could actually mean it.

"No." Seth says, turning back to Richie with the most stern expression he can muster. "I mean it, Richie. Don't you even try it."

"Okay," Richie says, but Seth doesn't quite believe him.

"I'm serious, Richard," Seth glares. "Don't talk to her, don't touch her-- leave the kid alone."

"Fine, fine," Richie says, waving his hands in the air defensively. "But I think you wouldn't have to try hard to look like you like her."

Seth glances back over at Kate again, watches as she catches the edge of her shirt on the cash register and flops back a little, scowling at the machine. Her nose crinkles from the gesture, front teeth poking at her full lower lip as she blushes and mutters something intangible under her breath.

_No,_ Seth thinks. _Guess I wouldn't._

But, goddamn, he may be a bastard, but he's not a _fucking_ bastard-- and so he dismisses the thought quickly.

 

* * *

 

Kate gets off that night around ten after close, waves goodbye to Gabriela and Alejandro as she locks the back door and the pair head off towards their respective bus stop two blocks away from Kate's.

Before leaving the restaurant completely, Kate takes a moment to pull out her track phone (the cheapest thing she and Scott can afford) and makes sure she didn't miss a call from Scott, or anything. He's out late a movie with some friends and Kate can't help but worry, frowns at herself because she's turning into her mother.

Sighing, she shoves the phone back in her purse and begins to walk down the ally towards the main street and to the bus stop. She pulls up short though when the sound of squeaking erupts behind her, turns to find a man rolling up in a wheel chair right in front of her. In the dim lights coming from the street, Kate can vaguely make out the man's features-- the slope of his nose, the thick rims of his glasses. He's wearing the same suit from earlier, leg still wrapped up in a thick cast.

"Hi," he says to her.

"Um, hi..." Kate murmurs, puts her hand in her purse and gropes around for the pepper spray she keeps there because while this man is undeniably good looking and also quiet incapacitated, Kate knows appearances can be deceptive.

"I'm in a wheel chair," the mans says, shocking Kate as he guesses at exactly what she's doing and inclines his head towards her purse. "I'm not really in a position to hurt you, Kate."

"How do you know my name?" Kate asks, heart beginning to race.

"Name tag," the guy says with a secret kind of smirk. "I'm Richie, by the way."

"What do you want?" Kate asks, channeling her fear into suspicion.

"I have a proposition for you," Richie answers.

"Oh?" Kate asks, quirking a brow sarcastically. "And what's that?"

"I need you to marry my brother," Richie says, and Kate just blinks.

 

* * *

 

All things considered, Kate supposes it isn't the _worst_ deal she's ever heard of-- a lot less destructive than some of the deals that have happened in the Bible, anyways.

She sits there, sipping on a cup of coffee from the 24/7 cafe just down the road from Kahuna Burger, Richie sitting across from her, smiling. He isn't as scary up close as she first thought. He's a little weird though, but he really is good looking and there's this certain sort of calm about him, this certain sort of kindness.

Kate watches as he mixes exactly three sugar packets into his latte before taking a long drink and looking at her. "So, will you do it?" he asks.

"Are you sure you aren't just messing with me?" Kate asks, wants to maybe ask if he's sure he isn't crazy, too, but somehow she knows that'd make this conversation go from strange to bad in an instant; besides, she doesn't know Richie and shouldn't be so quick to judge him, even if he _has_ just proposed for her to take part in a paid fraudulence.

"Nope," Richie says. "Like I said, my brother, Seth, needs to get married to a legal citizen of this fine country in order not to get deported, and in turn keep his job. He has lived here all his life, but was not born here, so they're kicking him out for it. All you have to do, Kate, is sign the certificate and do the ceremony, sign some more papers for the INA, then you get a hundred grand and never have to see us again until it's time to get divorced."

"Is this a C.I.A. thing?" Kate asks before she can help herself, having spent one too many a night staying up late with Scott to marathon the Jason Borne series over and over again.

"No," Richie laughs, smooths back his already perfect hair. "It is what I said it is. Plain and simple."

"Doesn't your brother-- er, _Seth_ , want to pick the girl? And, you know, actually want to marry her," Kate asks, feeling her palms start to sweat; she remembers Seth, of course, that quiet anger inside of him and the way it both terrified and thrilled her to see it.

How could she ever marry a man like that, and much less, one she doesn't even  _know_?

But a hundred grand is a lot of money. Enough money to pay her rent for months and months while Kate takes time off to look for a job she actually _likes_ ; her and Scott could even move out of their crappy apartment thanks to this money. Hell, this could give Kate enough money in the bank to pay for college for Scott _and_ herself, as long as they go local. This could sustain them for _years_ , and all Kate has to do is sign a marriage license and go to a courthouse, fake some INA documents and flash a false smile while she says ' _I do_.'

She gives false grins every day at work as it is-- how would this be any different?

After all, Richie implicitly stated that this marriage would just be for show. Kate wouldn't have to do anything real married people do, like move in with Seth, or go out to dinner with him, or, uh, _sleep with_ him. All she'd have to do is sign some papers, and then in three to five years she and a man she'll never really know will simply sign a new slip of paper and be divorced.

Last year, before her dad died, Kate would have been totally against this idea. She would have laughed in Richie's face and walked away. But now Kate's dad is dead, and Kate has to take care of Scott, and she's so poor she doesn't have two pennies to rub together. The only reason she even agreed to talk with Richie over coffee was because he offered to pay.

_It'd be cheating the government,_ Kate thinks to herself distantly, but then realizes she doesn't actually _care_. She likes to think of herself as a good person, of being honest and fair, but when has the world ever been honest and fair _back_? The government's cheated her in every way possible since her dad died-- they took her parents' house, the money they'd saved their entire lives for. Kate didn't even have a chance to default on anything-- the house was under the church's name since her dad was a preacher, meaning it went back to the church the moment Kate couldn't make a payment, which was straight off the bat. She works way too much for way too little, and is shit on all the time nonetheless. Her landlord is a cheat and a pervert, yet no one does anything about it. 

The government obviously doesn't care about her, so why should she care about them?

More importantly, it doesn't care about _Scott_ , and Kate cares about Scott more than anything, meaning she'll do whatever she has to to take care of him-- even if it means doing something illegal, she realizes with abstract shock.

"We're on a time constraint," Richie says in answer to her question then.

"What kind of time constraint?" Kate asks.

"Three weeks," Richie says.

" _Three weeks_?!" Kate almost shouts, has a few of the stray patrons on the cafe patio turning to look at her in annoyance. She makes an effort of lowering her voice when she says, "Three weeks? Doesn't it take longer than that to even draw up a marriage license?"

"I know a guy," Richie shrugs. "I can get it for us in the next two days, and we'll be good to go."

"Two days..." Kate says, stares at her coffee cup and realizes she's about to have a panic attack-- she had those a lot in the beginning, when it felt like the world was coming down around her after Dad died.

She doesn't realize, however, that she's hyperventilating until she feels a warm, strong hand wrap around her own. There's an electric pulse, bright blue eyes in her vision behind Coke-bottle thick glasses. Kate focuses in on Richie's face, on the scatter of freckles across his pale skin and sharp bow of his lips.

"You don't have to," he says. "I just thought that maybe you'd _want_ to."

"Why?" Kate asks, voice sounding small.

Richie squeezes her hand harder. "When I saw you today, you looked...hurt. It was almost like you were bleeding, with how sad you seemed. No one works at a fast food place because they want to, Kate. Don't you want the money to make your life better, to be _set free_?"

"I..." Kate falters, honesty spilling out before she can stop it. "Yes."

"Then take the deal," Richie says.

"What if we get caught?" Kate asks meekly, because all of this sounds too good to be true (more or less), and she _can't_ end up in jail-- what would happen to Scott?

"We won't," Richie says with a smile, his fingers slipping through her own and his skin _burns_ against hers. "It won't be hard for Seth to act like he likes you."

"Why do you say that?" Kate asks, blinking up at Richie in surprise.

"Because _I_ like you," Richie says, shocking her even more. "And Seth and I have similar tastes."

* * *

 

"What the fuck did you _do_ , Richard?" Seth asks as his brother wheels his way into their house, a small, familiar looking girl following in after him.

"I mail ordered you a bride from Russia," Richie snorts. "What do you _think_ I did?"

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Seth says, looks up at Kate and sees her eyes widen dramatically. "Princess," Seth sighs. "You have no idea what you've just gotten yourself into."

 

 

 

 


	2. If anyone has any reason as to why these two should not be wed-- uh, yeah, a few, padre.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, just wanted to give a heads-up that I'm going back to school this week so if updates are a little slow, I apologize. I'm going to try and save some time for fics between school and work, but goddamn I am so lazy so please don't hate me if I leave you on cliffhangers for weeks at a time.

* * *

 

 

"Absolutely _not_ , Richard!"

"Oh, come on! She's prime pickings, Seth! Her record's clean and she's young so an impromptu marriage doesn't seem all that strange!"

"That's the p-o- _i_ n _t_! She's too _young_!"

Kate sits there awkwardly on the Gecko brother's couch, staring at the water rings branded into their coffee table, trying to pretend like she can't hear Seth and Richie arguing about her in the kitchen.

Something whines from her side and she glances over, finds their dog, Brando, looking up at her with big puppy eyes. The dog's about as big as Kate, a mix somewhere between a Mastiff and a German Shepherd, but she's already come to realize he's the biggest ham ever in the short five minutes she's been here. Sighing, Kate pats the couch and the dog hops up with her, sets his head in her lap and wags his tail when she starts scratching him behind the ears.

The trip back to the Gecko house was short, even for a two hour drive. Richie had called a handicapped taxi service to come back to Del Rio and find Kate to offer her the marriage deal, and the cabby kept glancing at her skeptically as she sat there next to Richie in the back seat and didn't say a word. The only time they _did_ speak was when Richie asked Kate her last name.

"Fuller," Kate said softly, picking at her nails so she didn't have to meet his eye.

"Ours is Gecko," Richie replied in an easy-breezy manner; Kate realized then that he's used to silence, enjoys it even.

"Like the lizard?" she asked.

"Like the lizard," Richie smirked.

And Kate knows it was probably a stupid idea to come with Richie back to his and Seth's house, to be alone with two strange men. But she also knows that she had little choice after Richie laid the whammy on her that Seth had no idea Richie had come to talk to Kate about the marriage deal. She asked him if Seth even had an inclination about the marriage deal itself in the first place, and Richie said that he did, but wasn't the happiest about it so Kate shouldn't expect him to be chipper when they got back to the Geckos brothers' house in San Antonio.

That was an understatement though, because at the current moment, Seth is absolutely _pissed_.

"This is fucking nuts, Richard!" he's shouting from inside the kitchen. "You just went up to some random girl who we _just saw_ to- _day_ and offered to pay her to marry me! I _told_ you not to go near her! Do you know how fucking _risky_ this is?!"

"She's not going to tell anybody," Richie fires back, calm where Seth is a storm. "We can trust her."

"And how the hell would _you_ know? Get all buddy-buddy with Kate after going behind my back about this?" Seth asks, and Kate flinches at his harsh tone when he says her name.

"I told her the deal, said she'd be compensated, and she agreed," Richie says. "It's pretty simple."

"What if she's working for the feds?"

"She's not working for the feds."

"You sure about that? Are you psychic now as well as crazy?" Seth shouts.

"Don't _call me that_ ," Richie hisses, and it's the first time Kate's heard him angry during the entire conversation.

"I'll call you what I want to call you, you goddamn whack job-- _OW_!"

Kate hears shuffling in the kitchen, squeaking breaks followed by something glass hitting the ground and shattering. Brando barks and hops off her lap, rushing into the kitchen to investigate. Wearily, Kate follows, pulling the pepper spray out of her purse and tucking it up her sleeve just in case, because while she doesn't necessarily feel threatened by either of the Geckos (even when they're screaming at each other like a bunch of banshees), a girl can never be too sure.

When she gets into the lip of the kitchen door she sees it was a glass pitcher that got broken, knocked off the counter by the brothers as they started wrestling with each other. Currently Seth's wrapped around Richie in his wheel chair and they're throwing punches back and forth like a couple of school kids, Brando leaning back and barking at them, getting slobber everywhere.

Kate rolls her eyes, wonders if she should back out of the deal because if the Geckos are this childish that they get in fights over calling each other names, there's no way this whole thing is really going to work out. Sure, it sounds simple: sign a license, go to a courthouse and have a ceremony, turn in some papers to the government, get paid and never speak to the Geckos again until Seth's legal, then get a divorce. But, really, Kate thinks, too many things can go wrong when the masterminds behind this operation are actually just huge, stupid dorks.

" _Hey_!" Kate says then, tone commanding and stern.

It works, the brothers snapping to with Seth still in Richie's lap as they look over at her. "Hi," Richie says sheepishly, has a split lip that dribbles blood down his chin; Seth just glares behind a rapidly blackening eye.

Kate exhales loudly, sets her hands on her hips like she does when she talks to Scott after he's done something idiotic and gotten himself in trouble. "If you two can't quit arguing about this, then I can leave," Kate says.

"Sure," Seth says, and the same time Richie shouts, "No!"

"She wants to go, Richard," Seth says, giving Kate a patronizing smirk. "Probably realized this is too much for her."

"This isn't _too much_ for me," Kate snaps, making Seth's arrogant expression falter.

She hates that he's baiting her, that he's treating her like a little kid when he doesn't even know her. Kate's been through a lot in the last two years, and while she might have once ran away at the idea of marrying someone for money and not love, she won't now. Because even though she grew up learning that you're _supposed_ to marry someone because you love them and want to be with them for the rest of your life, she's since realized the world doesn't work like that, that things aren't that simple for people in her position. Life is a cruel thing for the poor, and they have to take whatever opportunity they can. Kate needs this money, needs it to get out of the rut she and Scott have been driven into.

If making ends meat means she has to marry some angry, arrogant stranger like Seth Gecko for show, she's going to do it; she doesn't have the luxury of choosing otherwise.

"I can handle this," Kate reaffirms, holding Seth's gaze with as much conviction as she can. "I just don't want to get involved in something illegal that's going to go south because you two can't come to a decision. I know it's short notice for you, Seth, but Richie offered me the deal and I said I'd take it."

"You do realize you'd be joining me in _holy matrimony_ , right, princess?" Seth asks, finally climbs out of Richie's wheelchair and stands with a flinch, brushing imaginary dust off his suit jacket. "No going back for three to five years, and then you'll have a divorce on that spotless record of yours."

"People get divorced all the time," Kate says, because they do. "And it's not like we're actually going to do what married people do. I just sign a paper, we go to a courthouse, send the information into the INA, then you pay me and we get divorced once your green card pans out."

"We really _could_ get caught though," Seth says, inclining his head tauntingly.

Richie scoffs, rolls his wheelchair over next to Kate and shakes his head. "He's just being dramatic, Kate. We're not going to get caught-- Seth and I are ace at things like this."

"Richie," Seth warns, about to continue but Kate holds up her hand.

"I don't care why you're good at this," Kate says, even though she actually is kind of curious about what Richie meant and why Seth was so quick to try and shut him up. "I just want the money."

"Greedy little thing, aren't you?" Seth asks.

Kate glares at him, takes her hands off her hips and crosses them over her chest, pepper spray digging into her forearm. "So what if I am?" she asks. "You're the one that needs to get married _fast_ , and I don't see anyone else in line taking the offer."

"Don't act so special," Seth scowls. "You're the first person we've asked."

"Seth," Richie frowns. "Don't be such a dick. She's helping us."

"For a price," Seth says.

"Yes, because someone would totally marry you within the next three weeks out of sheer good will," Richie snorts. "Dream on, brother. You're not _that_ much of a catch."

A muscle in Seth's jaw twitches then, and both Kate and Brando take a step back from him because they can tell he's about to explode. Kate still remembers her first impression of him-- all that anger he keeps bottled up. When people hold that kind of pain inside it comes out in the nastiest of ways, and she wants to have a safe distance from Seth since it's all spilling out now.

"FINE!" Seth finally yells, points a finger at Kate and says, "You better not fuck it up, princess. I ain't going to jail just because you can't hold your own with the big dogs." Kate sets her mouth in a steady line, meets his eye and doesn't back down even if she is a little freaked out by him. Her facade works though, and after a moment Seth looks away and focuses his malice on Richie. "And _you_ ," he says, waving at Richie detestably. "You better fucking get those papers done _now_. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

Seth stomps out the back door then and slams it closed behind himself, frame rattling and dog barking again.

Kate just stands there for a moment as the house settles before she feels Richie tugging on her sleeve and looks down. "Don't take it too personally," Richie says. "He's just nervous."

"Yeah," Kate sighs, all of the tension rolling out of her and being replaced with nerves of her own. "I get that."

 

* * *

 

After he's given Kate money for a cab and seen her off safely, Richie finds Seth on the back porch puffing at one of his cigarettes, staring out past the fence-line at nothing.

Taking a deep breath, Richie rolls himself out next to Seth, letting Brando flop past them down the steps into the backyard before settling. He looks over at his brother and finds that Seth's eye has swollen up, wants to smirk because it serves him right for splitting Richie's lip open and sitting on his bad leg, but he can't. It's obvious Seth is upset by this whole thing-- and it isn't just anger either, but desperation.

"We don't even _know_ her, Richie," Seth says after a moment. "What if she's got a family and they freak out?"

"She doesn't," Richie says, staring up at the sky like Seth. "After we got back and you went to take a nap--"

"You mean before you snuck out like fucking Kid Robinson," Seth interrupts.

"Yes before then." Richie rolls his eyes. "Anyways, I looked up Kate's records. Both of her parents are dead, Seth." Richie lets that settle with his brother for a moment, watches a few shades of guilt slant over Seth's face, probably because he gave Kate such a hard time earlier. And Richie knows what he's going to say next will make Seth feel like an even bigger asshole, and thinks that's good, because he should feel bad for being so mean to Kate when she doesn't deserve it. "She's taking care of her younger brother on her own," Richie says, noticing the way Seth's shoulders tense up. "The way you did with me after Uncle Eddie died."

"Don't compare her to us," Seth mutters, looking away.

"Why not?" Richie asks. "She's just like us. Her parents are gone and the system doesn't give a fuck about her. Her mom died in a car accident, and then her dad got sick, apparently. She was able to pay off the dept from the hospital and funeral bills only because the bank repossessed her house and all of her belongings, as well as took all the money she would've gotten from her parents as inheritance. She's lucky she even got to keep her brother. It only happened because he was old enough to decide who he wanted his legal guardian to be, and he chose _her_."

"Is that why you were so gun-ho about going and getting her in on the deal?" Seth asks. "Because you empathize with her?"

"Don't you?" Richie asks.

"This can't be about charity, Richie," Seth sighs. "We need someone who knows what they're doing and won't get us in trouble. What if the feds come sniffing around since I'm getting married so close to my deportation date? What if Carlos finds out? You know how bitchy he is about his workers shacking up with people he hasn't deemed trustworthy yet."

"If that does happen, I think Kate can handle it," Richie says, and he means that. "When I talked to her earlier, I couldn't stop being surprised by how well she took all of this. She's _strong_ Seth-- I haven't even known her for a full day and I can already see that."

"See?" Seth asks hesitantly.

"Not in a vision way," Richie frowns, irritated Seth can't stop bringing his schizophrenia up. "I'm taking my meds."

"I know," Seth smiles softly, apologetic. "I'm just not sure about it, Richie. She _is_ really young."

"She's almost twenty," Richie says. "When we were almost twenty we'd already been pushing drugs across the border for three years."

"What if she's just doing it out of grief though?" Seth asks.

"I don't think she is," Richie says. "I mean, she's probably doing it to take care of her brother. Think about it-- they have no money and she works a shitty ass job, and they live in fucking _Del Rio_ when they used to live in Bethel."

"Fucking Bible-pusher town?" Seth scoffs.

Richie nods. "Kate's dad was a preacher before he died."

"You have to be shitting me," Seth laughs. "A conman marrying a preacher's daughter? Can this be anymore cliche?"

"I think it's perfect," Richie chuckles. "Imagine how stereotypical it'll look to the INA? They'll eat that shit up."

"Yeah, maybe," Seth smiles. "I'm just surprised she stood up to me and didn't back down."

"She's tougher than she looks," Richie shrugs, twitches his fingers for Seth to pass him the cigarette so he can take a few drags. "Speaking of, she's not _bad_ to look at, either."

"Shit," Seth smirks. "That is so wrong."

"She's not that much younger than us," Richie says.

"I could be her father," Seth scoffs.

Richie laughs. "Only if you started young. And don't lie, you know you'd like it if she calls you _daddy_."

"So would you," Seth says, snatching the cigarette back and stuffing the end into his mouth to inhale.

"Totally," Richie says, lounges back and smiles.

 

* * *

 

"You are doing _what_?!"

"Shh, keep your voice down," Kate says as the other patrons of the bus turn to stare at her and Scott.

Kate's just gotten off shift at work and went to meet Scott on his way home from school. She got back late last night from the Gecko brothers' house to find Scott already passed out on the couch, and she had to leave before him this morning so she didn't get the chance to tell him about the deal until now. And she's thinking maybe she shouldn't have, because it looks like Scott's about ready to pass out from all of the sudden erratic energy that's bubbled up inside of him.

"So let me get this straight," Scott hisses, tone low enough so no one can hear him anymore, but still on edge. "A guy you don't even fucking know walks up to you--"

"Wheeled up," Kate says. "He's in a wheel chair."

"Whatever," Scott huffs. "He _wheels_ up to you and offers you a hundred grand to marry his brother so the shithead can stay in the states, and you just say yes? You don't even _know_ these people, Kate! What if it's a trick?"

"The first wire transfer went into our new account this morning," Kate says. Richie called her on her break at work, told her that he'd set up a joint account in her and Seth's name that only she can withdraw money from. "We have an extra five thousand dollars just sitting there for us."

Scott blinks, mouth hanging open before abruptly closing again. "Do you have to fuck him?" he asks after a moment.

"What?" Kate gapes, body reeling back in revolt.

"You're marrying him, Kate. Married people have sex," Scott says.

"It isn't like that," Kate says, shaking her head quickly. "All I do is sign the license and the official documents for the green card applications showing that I'm Seth's wife and a U.S. citizen. I mean, yeah, we have to have a courthouse ceremony, but after that I don't have to talk to them again until Seth gets his card and then we get divorced. In the meantime you and I will get the money in installments for the next twenty months and can do whatever we want with it."

"Are you going to quit your job?" Scott asks.

"I don't know," Kate answers honestly. "I was thinking about it."

Heinrich was there again today and ordered her around like she was a dog. Kate's really tired of that, hates being treated like she's less than dirt and not getting paid nearly enough for it. The five thousand she got today would be enough for her and Scott to live off of the next couple of months if Kate quits, and that's even if they didn't have more money coming in. But they do have more money coming, meaning Kate has plenty of time to look for a new job if she wants.

And move.

"I was thinking about maybe finding a new place, too," Kate says sheepishly. "We both hate the apartment and the landlord, anyways."

"You mean move to a new place in Del Rio?" Scott asks.

Kate takes a deep breath, shakes her head. "Move to a new place in general."

She's tired of this town, if she's being honest. It's cramped and dusty, full of crooks and cheats. The only friends Kate has made here are Gabriela and Alejandro, but she never even sees them outside of work. Del Rio has as many bad memories as Bethel now-- it's the place Kate picked for her and Scott to escape to, but over the last year it's become nothing but a sort of prison. She wants to start over again, wants to get things right this time.

"Oh," Scott says, looking down at his feet.

"Do you not want to?" Kate asks, guilt instantly taking over. "I mean I know you like your school and have friends and--"

"I want to move," Scott says, surprising her. "My school's good just because it isn't Bethel High. And my friends aren't really _friends_ , just people I hang out with. We don't really talk about anything besides school and video games. And I mean, I do hate the apartment and our fuck of a landlord."

"Where would you want to go if we do move?" Kate asks.

"San Antonio," Scott says. "They have a cool art institute there and I'd like to take some classes, if you're willing to put some of that marriage money towards it?"

"Um..." Kate starts.

"Or not," Scott says, his face falling.

"It's not that," Kate says quickly. "I'd happily pay for art classes for you. I might even be able to pay for college for you with this."

"Then what's wrong with San Antonio?" Scott asks.

"Richie and Seth kind of...live there," Kate laughs nervously.

"Oh," Scott says, slants his mouth to the side and then shrugs. "Well, I mean, what's wrong with living closer to your husband?"

Kate sighs. "He's not my husband, Scott."

"Says the girl who's getting married to him," Scott snorts.

Kate smacks him in the head so hard that Scott shouts, and once again, the other patrons of the bus are looking at them; Kate smiles and waves.

* * *

 

"Look, pal, either you give up the location or I'm gonna put this bullet through your brain-- your choice."

Seth holds the gun steady, barrel trained at the snitch's forehead in front of him. Working for Carlos Mandigal means that sometimes you have to do more than smuggle drugs; it means that sometimes you also have to scare the living shit out of other people that smuggle drugs and turn on your team.

This guy, Alberto, decided he'd go to the rival cartel led by Narciso Ramirez to make an extra penny-- the rival Cartel Seth and Richie were running from when Richie got his leg broken on a deal gone south. Good ol' Alberto here told Narciso about a shipment he was supposed to be picking up for Carlos, and Narciso intercepted the shipment before Carlos could get to it. This left Carlos out of more than two-hundred grand, and to say the drug lord is pissed is the biggest understatement of the year.

" _Yo no sé de dónde se lo llevaron_!"Alberto says, waving his hands frantically against the chair he's taped up to.

Seth sighs, tilting the gun on its side to make a point. "English, motherfucker," he says.

"I don't know where it is!" Alberto cries, snot mixing in with the blood already dripping from his nose after Seth smacked him around a bit earlier. "I don't know!"

"That's unfortunate for you," Seth says, leaves Alberto in his chair and goes over to the card table that's set up on the other side of the warehouse Carlos rents out for torture. He picks up the disposable cell there and hits the automatic redial.

"Hello?" Carlos answers on the first ring.

"He's saying he doesn't know where they took it," Seth says.

"Of course he doesn't," Carlos growls, automatically knowing who's speaking and what the words mean. "Well, what a waste. Kill him."

Seth swallows dryly. "You know that ain't my job, Carlito."

"It's an inconvenience to me to come all the way down there just because you're too much of a _coño_ to do it, Seth," Carlos says, patience wearing thin.

"Then send fucking Razor Charlie," Seth hisses. "It ain't part of my pay-grade to kill people."

"Hmm, yes, speaking of your pay-grade," Carlos says cryptically, and Seth freezes in place at the tone, knowing it doesn't mean well. "I notice you made a joint account with a young _gringa_ named Katelyn Fuller."

All of the breath rushes out of Seth's lungs then, his eyes darting over to Alberto and the way the man is sobbing, strapped up, bloody, and waiting to die. Seth realizes that could be _him_ at any moment if Carlos accuses Seth of betraying him by keeping Kate a secret. It's only been four days since Seth agreed to marry her, but in that short span of time Richie's managed to set up a bank account for wire-transfers as well as fake a marriage license for Seth and Kate when they go to the courthouse sometime soon to tie the knot.

Richie had said that this would all be a secret, that no one would know, but _goddamn_ how Seth ever thought a sneaky bastard like Carlos wouldn't get his hands on this kind of information was a stupid thought.

"Well..." Seth mumbles, mouth going dry. "I was gonna wait to tell you for a little bit with all the drama going on over this Narciso shit, but, uh, I'm getting married."

"Really?" Carlos asks, fake surprise.

"Yeah..." Seth says, trying to come up with a good lie. "I met Kate a couple months ago. She's, well, she's something, man. And, well, that doesn't come around often so I want to keep hold of it the best I can."

"So this has nothing to do with you being deported at the end of the month?"

 _Fuck_ , Seth thinks, looking around frantically for an evasive escape route because he wouldn't put it past Carlos to have sent Razor Charlie to kill _him_ at this very moment.

"About that..." Seth starts.

"Look, Seth," Carlos says before he can finish. "I do not care." Seth blinks at that, because he expected Carlos to be _fuming_ that the Geckos had gone behind his back  _again_. "You are handling the situation, obviously. As long as this does not interfere with the big deal in six moths, and your little wifey can convince the government it's the real thing, I'm not going to kill you."

"You're not?" Seth asks, eyes wide as saucers.

"You forget you're not the only one who has had this green card problem," Carlos says easily. "Besides, I need you  _and_ Richard for the deal."

"Oh, well, thanks, I guess," Seth says, glances over at Alberto and feels a little bad for the poor sucker that he wasn't as easily forgiven.

"I just have two conditions," Carlos says.

"What?" Seth asks, relief turning to instant anxiety all over again.

"One," Carlos says, and Seth knows the bastard is holding his index finger up to indicate. "I get to meet Kate, and make sure she isn't some undercover federal agent of the D.E.A.; it would not be the first time something such as that has happened."

Seth swallows dryly, never wanted to get Kate involved with this aspect of his life, but at this point, he probably doesn't have a choice. If he were to back out of the deal now, Carlos would simply kill him. And probably Kate too for being a witness. And her brother. And _Richie_... Seth can't let that happen.

"What's the second one?" Seth asks hesitantly.

"You kill Alberto for me," Carlos says. "Call me when it's done."

Carlos hangs up then, leaves Seth staring at the receiver in shock.

It's not like Seth hasn't killed anyone before, but it's only ever been because he's had to. It's always been people who are trying to kill him first, whether they be from a rival cartel or feds trying to make a bust. Seth's only ever left five men dead though, and he still sees their faces in his nightmares. They mix in with the flames from the fire that killed his dad-- the smell of lighter fluid and rotting corpses.

Seth doesn't kill people that don't deserve it, he likes to tell himself, but it doesn't work all that well.

 _You don't have a choice now, either. Think of Richie_ , he tells himself as his hands start to shake and he steps up to Alberto, gun raised once again.

"Please, don't do this, Seth," Alberto says, and Seth closes his eyes.

 _Think of Kate,_ Seth tells himself just as he pulls the trigger and fires.

 

* * *

 

Kate inspects the beer in her hands wearily, looking over the label again and again; it tastes like warm piss but Richie insisted it's his favorite and she should try it, meaning she doesn't want to be rude by simply pouring it out.

"So you quit your job, then?" Richie asks, sipping at his own beer as they sit on the back porch of the Gecko house watching Seth cook hamburgers on the large grill on the patio.

Kate nods.

Heinrich had been there when she went back on shift a few days ago, and he was breathing down her neck, threatening to fire her for every little mistake as per usual during his little visits. Finally Kate had had enough-- she turned to the angry, stupid man and yelled right back at him. She called him a pig in front of a floor full of customers, said he had no right to act so high and mighty because everyone's just trying to get by in this world and it's because of people like Heinrich that this doesn't happen.

"I  _quit_!" was what Kate finished the rant with. _  
_

"You can't _quit_!" Heinrich said, looking shocked that she'd just so defiantly stood up to him after a year's worth of bowing down to his every whim.

"Oh yeah?" Kate asked, bearing her teeth. "Watch me!"

She threw her apron at him then, marched towards the back to grab her things. "Good for you,  _chica_ ," Gabriela said, giving Kate a high five as she started calming down from the encounter.

"I can't believe I just did that," Kate answered, surprised at her own assertiveness; it was like the other night with Seth, when she stood up to him and didn't back down even though she'd been terrified.

"I can," Alejandro said. "We knew you had it in you."

"What are you going to do now?" Gabriela asked.

"Get married," Kate answered, and when the pair simply looked at her in shock, she shrugged. "I'll invite you to the wedding."

"You better," Alejandro finally said. "Keep in touch,  _damita_. And always stick it to the man."

Kate walked out and didn't look back after that.

"Yeah," Kate says now as verbal confirmation, scuffing her feet against the deck; she glances over to where Scott's running around with Brando playing catch. Richie had insisted that Kate bring Scott over so he could get to know the Gecko brothers better and not be so freaked out about his sister is marrying a complete stranger, realize the Geckos mean her no harm. Scott's still weary of the brothers of course, but he hasn't told Kate to run for the hills yet, so she figures it's a start.

"That's good," Richie says, smiling at her warmly-- something about the soft creases around his mouth when he does that makes Kate's stomach flip-flop, but she brushes it off as the beer reacting badly to her system.

"I guess," Kate says, and at Richie's questioning gaze explains that she's afraid she won't get another job. "Scott and I are moving here to the city," she mumbles. "More people to compete with for minimum wage positions."

"You're moving _here_?" Richie asks, eyes wide.

Kate nods. "That's okay, right? I mean, Scott really wants to take some art classes at the university, and we both like the high school system here from him, and I found an apartment that would be really cheap but isn't too terrible and I--"

"I think it's great," Richie says, putting Kate's babbled anxieties at ease. He leans over in his wheelchair, touching Kate's thigh almost intimately, making her sober up under the hot Texas sun. "I want you to be close."

"Oh?" Kate asks, not capable of any other syllables.

Richie smiles again, looking like a shy little boy as he admits, "I know we said you never have to talk to us again after the wedding if you don't want, but I kinda... I'd like it if we could be friends."

"You, me and Seth?" Kate asks wearily, glancing over to where Seth's still flipping burgers with his back turned to them, steadily gulping down another beer.

He's been testy since Kate and Scott got here about an hour ago, on the offense and barely making courtesies or conversation. Kate knows he isn't too keen about this whole marriage thing, but she thought that at least for the sake of civility he'd act a little nicer to her. He doesn't even have to pretend like he likes her, really, but she wishes he would at least acknowledge she's here instead of turning his back and pretending she doesn't exist.

"Yeah," Richie says, hand creeping a little higher up Kate's thigh. "You and me especially. I mean, the brother-in-law and sister-in-law should be close, right?"

Kate blinks, looks down at Richie's hand and it stills on her leg. "Um..." she says, blushing like a mad woman as her heart starts to race. "I have to-- I have to pee."

She stands up quickly then, leaves Richie sitting there with a sheepish sort of look on his face as she rushes inside. There's a bathroom in the back hall on the first floor and Kate locks herself inside, leaning back against the wall to breathe.

She and Richie have been calling each other a lot in the past five days, and three days ago Richie came down to see Kate and have her sign the marriage license he'd drafted up for her and Seth. He hadn't been kidding about it taking two days, and Kate had been worried that signing the license meant she and Seth were going to get married ASAP seeing as how he wants to get this over with, but Richie assured her they were going to wait about a week or two, book a date at the courthouse and set up all the little details.

After they were done discussing business though, Richie started talking to Kate like they were two old friends out on a lunch date. He asked her all sorts of questions, and she asked him questions back simply because she's curious by nature. They chatted about how they grew up, always being the quiet kids, trying to be strong after their parents died. They talked favorite movies and books and television shows, and Kate had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Richie is a Labyrinth fanatic like her. 

Kate's surprised how easy it is for her to talk to Richie, about how much he empathizes with her about wanting to find a place to belong. That's why it's so difficult for Kate to deny how much she relates to Richard Gecko, how much she kind of _likes_ him even though she's set to marry his brother in less than a month.

"Fuck," Kate says, staring at her reflection in the mirror and the way she specifically did her make-up to impress. "What am I doing?"

Maybe it's just been too long since she's had a boy's attention, or maybe there's something more to it. Kate's felt drawn to both of the Gecko  brothers since she first met them, which is a problem considering she's basically their hired green card whore and nothing more. Or, at least, she _was_ just their hired green card whore until Richie said what he said about them being friends on the porch, and how his skin felt on her skin...

A sudden, unbidden image of Seth flashes in Kate's mind, the way he doesn't even give a fuck that he and Kate are getting married and that his brother was feeling her up right behind his back. And Kate doesn't want Seth to be jealous or anything, doesn't want him to _like_ her like her, but she at least wants him to put in half as much effort with her as Richie is.

Maybe that's asking for more than she signed up for, but,  _goddamn,_  she's going to have to kiss Seth when they get married for show, and even if it's just a peck, Kate doesn't want to kiss anyone who finds her so revolting they won't even look at her.

Sighing, she fixes her mascara and splashes some cold water on her face, gets ready to go back out and face the heat. Only, when she opens the door and enters the hallway, Kate smacks straight into a solid, warm chest.

 _"Shit,"_ Seth says, grabbing hold of Kate by the upper arms before she falls on her ass from sheer deflection.

 _"Eep,"_ Kate squeaks in response, meeting the amber of Seth's eyes in the low light of the hall.

He holds onto her another moment before righting her on her feet, taking a step back and clearing his throat. "Need to use the bathroom," he says.

"Oh," Kate answers, moves so he can step around her. Before he can close the door though, Kate lets her tongue get ahead of her senses and blurts out, "Do you hate me?"

"What?" Seth asks, frame of the bathroom door grasped in his hand but he isn't slamming it closed in her face, so Kate guesses that's something, at least.

"Do you hate me?" she repeats.

"Why d'you ask that?" Seth says.

Kate shrugs. "I mean, I know we're not actually getting married, but we are getting _married_ and I don't want you to hate me."

"That's kind of stupid, princess," Seth says. "Why do you care so much?"

Again, Kate shrugs. Because why _does_ she care so much? Why should it really mean anything to her that the Gecko brothers like her? This is just a job, after all. She should just put on a big smile and be happy she's getting paid, but somehow Kate's not going to be happy about all of this unless the Geckos can tolerate her. Even if they really don't ever speak to her again after the wedding, she doesn't want them to resent her because they have to pay her for all of this. She doesn't necessarily want them to be thankful either, she just wants them to... _like_? her, if only a little.

"I don't know," Kate says. "I've just never liked it when people hate me."

"It's because you're a Christian and want to go to Heaven," Seth says.

Kate reels at his answer, her past religion thrown in her face; she touches her mama's cross she always wears around her neck and blows air through her teeth. "I don't believe in all that anymore."

"Really?" Seth asks like he doesn't believe _her._

"I don't think there's any salvation," she says.

"Me neither," Seth answers, stares at her for a very long moment and, just like with Richie, Kate's stomach flip-flops over, her pulse racing. "Wait here, okay. Let me piss real quick and then I want to show you something," Seth says.

"Okay..." Kate whispers, and she waits.

 

* * *

 

Seth doesn't know why he's doing this.

The heavy, porcelain cross that Kate's holding in her hands is the only thing he and Richie have left of their mother, and even though Seth doesn't believe, that cross means something.

He's been actively trying to avoid Kate all day, can't look at her without seeing the way Alberto's head exploded under the weight of a bullet. And while Seth doesn't blame Kate, he can't face her because she looks like guilt. That cross around her neck made him think she's still religious, especially with being a preacher's daughter and all. Made him think that she's been judging him this whole time.

But then she said she doesn't believe in salvation, and now he can't stop _looking_ at her.

Because he gets that, gets why she's lost her faith. For people like them, people who have lost everything except their brothers, that makes believing hard. They both struggle to take care of the one person they have left, but no one takes care of them. It's kind of hard to believe in God when he's given up on you so easily.

And maybe it makes Seth a sentimental whack-job for bonding with Kate over something as damning as renouncing the idea of Heaven, but he's done worse before. Not to mention that, despite everything, he can't shake the feeling of her. The way his body leans towards hers no matter how level the ground. He's never been this apt towards a person in his life so quickly, not with anyone besides Richie anyways. It's like he's lost at sea and Kate's the fucking north star, or something.

It's terrifying.

"It's beautiful," Kate says, making Seth blink as he looks over and watches her run her fingers over the Mexican roses carved into the cross' porcelain. "And it was your mother's?"

"Yeah," Seth says, smiling. "She always kept it above her bed, and when Richie and I would crawl in with her if we were scared because it was storming or something, she'd always point to that thing and say it would be okay because there were angels looking over us. Cheesy, but it worked."

"You miss her," Kate says, smiling over at Seth sadly.

"Yeah," Seth says, clearing his throat as his body bristles under the quiet intensity of her gaze. "I guess I do."

"I miss my mama too," Kate says. "People say the hurt gets easier, but I don't really think that it does."

"Me neither," Seth says, sits down next to Kate on his bed, leaving space between them but only just. He likes the way she looks against the dark sheets, the pale of her skin a pretty contrast that makes his hands itch to touch her despite the big, flashing warning buzzer going off in his head for those kinds of thoughts. "I wish I could believe she was in a better place, but imagination is something I've always lacked."

"My mama probably went to Hell," Kate says, shaking her head and laughing humorously. "At least accordin' to the Bible, since she killed herself and all."

"I'm sorry," Seth says.

"I'm sorry, too," Kate answers

They stay there in silence for a couple of minutes, and Seth takes that time to study her inconspicuously. She really is young, but looks a little older than he first thought. She's filling out in all the right places, her frame small but strong. Her cheeks are losing baby-fat, and her eyes are such a pretty green that he gets trapped on them for a moment. Not to mention her goddamn  _mouth_ , and the soft strands of her hair.

Seth realizes with a start that Kate looks like the angels his momma always said were watching over him-- it's just that Seth never realized how beautiful angels actually are.

"I need to tell you something," he says, figures he may as well confess his sins while he has the chance.

"And what's that?" Kate asks, looking up at him and, _Christ_ , why does Seth suddenly want to kiss this girl he doesn't even know yet has felt connected to from the start?

"The man I work for," Seth says, feeling guilt constrict his chest that he's about to subject Kate to more cruelty than the world has already shown her-- "he wants to meet you, since we're getting married and all."

"Oh?" Kate asks, smiling a little. "I heard you and Richie are in shipping, so he's like, the CEO?"

"Um," Seth chuckles, but it's overridden with a grimace. "About that..."

"What is it?" Kate asks.

Seth sucks in a deep breath, feels like he owes it to Kate to let her know what she's really getting into, that blood's already been spilled all because she agreed to marry him. "Do you know what a drug mule is, Kate?"

"I may look naive, but I'm not inept," Kate laughs.

"Well," Seth says. "Then I guess I don't have to explain the shipping business to you."

Seth waits a moment, watches as the news settles in Kate's head and she stops laughing. And, shit, Richie's going to _kill_ Seth for telling Kate the truth and probably scaring her away (no, it really _hasn't_ escaped Seth's notice or his nerves how enamored Richie's become with Kate), but Seth won't keep Kate in the dark. She has a right to know what kind of mess she's gotten into now that Carlos has found them out.

"You're joking, right?" Kate asks.

Seth clicks his tongue against his teeth. "'Fraid not, princess," he says. "We're going to dinner with a drug lord this weekend, it seems. Better buy something nice."

* * *

 

"What the fuck did you _do_?!" Richie screams as Kate rushes out of the house, Scott in tow.

"I told her the truth," Seth says, sipping at his beer lazily with a shrug.

Richie opens his mouth to scream some more, closes it when nothing comes out and lets go of a stuttered, angry breath. "Well, at least she has no more good illusions about us."

"Nope," Seth says.

"Think she's gonna change her mind?" Richie asks.

"If she does, both of us are dead," Seth answers.

"Fuck," Richie says, leaning back in his wheelchair with a groan. "Is it bad I'm willing to get whacked if it means she's happy?"

"Not really," Seth answers. "I mean, you know what they say: preacher's daughter strikes again."

 

 

 


	3. To have and to hold, until one of you fucks it all up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I should've been doing my Nursing 211 course work that's due this morning, but instead I spent all night writing this. Oops.

* * *

 

 

 

All things considered, Kate should probably be fleeing the country at this point in time instead of sitting on the couch of her apartment and eating straight out of a tub of Ben and Jerry’s and listening to My Chemical Romance on repeat.

Because, seriously, it’s bad enough she signed up to marry Seth Gecko under illegal pretenses, but to find out he’s _also_ a drug mule on top of that? Kate had thought they were getting somewhere the other day in Seth’s bedroom, that maybe he didn’t hate her as much as she thought he did– he’d showed her something that meant a lot to him, after all, and that was a big deal. And she was thinking this fake marriage could be tolerable, that the Geckos wouldn’t come to resent her for the whole deal. Richie had said he wanted them all to be friends, and in a strange way, Kate had wanted that too.

But now, _now_? Now she’s not even sure if she can go through with this. Cheating the government for a hundred thousand bucks is one thing, but cheating the government for a hundred thousand bucks _and_ marrying someone who works for a drug cartel? Kate doesn’t know if she can handle life in prison– she’s a little too soft spoken for the inside. Marrying Seth for nothing more than getting him a green card is bad enough, but it’s easy to fake affection. Marrying him and having to pretend he’s nothing more than a blue-collar shipment worker when he’s really smuggling drugs over the Mexican-American border– that’s just, well, that’s just a little too much.

So she ran after he told her. And maybe it was a cowardly thing to do, stupid even after all she’d already agreed to, but Kate couldn’t help herself. All she could think about was how they were going to get caught, how she was going to get thrown and prison and there’d be no one left to take care of Scott. Not to mention she was terrified at the idea of meeting Seth and Richie’s ‘ _boss_.’ Where she’d initially been a bit flattered that their boss had wanted to meet her, that’d been before she’d found out what this Carlos guy is really the leader _of_.

Kate’s heard stories of the cartel of course– many, in fact. Alejandro and Gabriela both moved here from Mexico to get away from it all. They said the cartels down there were fighting with each other over territory, and it was quickly encroaching on Alejandro and Gabriela’s home towns.

“We got out of there the first chance we could,” Gabriela told Kate a few months after they’d been working together and the woman finally felt safe to open up about her past. “Alejandro and I met when we were crossing the border, and we worked together to earn our green cards.”

“Don’t you miss your family?” Kate asked, astounded her two coworkers had been through and seen so much already at the tender ages of twenty-eight and thirty.

“I do,” Gabriela nodded. “But _mi papi_ , he died right before I left. And _mi madre_ – she’s a harsh woman. I miss my brothers, though. But most of them had been sucked into the cartel before I left, and I knew they were as good as dead by that point anyways. I had to get out.”

Kate considers calling Gabriela now and asking her what to do about this whole thing, but she doesn’t want to rope her friend into this. Especially since it was something Gabriela tried so hard to run away from, and Kate is now running towards.

Scott’s over a friend’s house having a Skyrim game-a-thon, meaning Kate has the apartment to herself to mope. He hadn’t asked why she’d rushed them out of the Gecko house so quickly the other day, and Kate isn’t apt to tell. Scott is eighteen now after all, and she doesn’t want him to be charged as an accomplice if this all goes south.

For a whole she just lounges, finally gets up to pack considering their lease is up by the end of the month. No matter if Kate backs out of the deal or not, she’s still determined to move. She’s not going to ask for her old job back at Kahuna, and after the exasperated look on Mr. Randall’s face when she told him she was moving out, she’s definitely not going back on her lease. The five thousand dollars she’s already gotten from the Geckos is enough to sustain her and Scott for a while– the apartment Kate found for them to rent in San Antonio is fairly cheap, but it’s a nice place. Kate’s set to sign the lease contract in a few weeks, and she’s determined to move on from Del Rio even if it kills her.

 _It really might,_ a voice in the back of her head says, ideas of vicious cartel men and guns flashing through her mind– it’s the reason she’s ignored all of Richie’s calls the past few days.

“Fuck,” Kate eventually says, tapes up the box she’s been working on a grabs her jacket from by the door, needs to get out of this cramped space for a while.

She intends to simply go on a walk and clear her head, but somehow in the middle of it, she finds herself standing outside the doors of an old, ominous church. It’s a Baptist church, which wasn’t exactly Kate’s religion before they moved from Bethel, but Christianity is Christianity. And right now Kate needs direction– even if it isn’t from God himself, she needs a space she’s used to, a space for reflection and awareness.

Taking a deep breath, she opens the doors and walks inside. The pews are lined up towards the front, reflected in color from the stained glass windows mounted into the wall. There’s no mass right now, space empty save for a few wondering bodies. Kate takes a seat in the back, bows her head down towards her hands and tries to think.

Somehow she starts remembering that day she went to lunch with Richie and how they talked, the way he said that everything happens for a reason.

“I think it was supposed to be you,” he said, looking at her like she was the sun.

 “Why, though?” Kate asked, uncomfortable from the intensity of his stare.

“It just is,” Richie said.

Kate still wonders what he meant by that, how he could think a girl like her is cut out for all of this. Kate grew up privileged and sheltered. Her entire life, the only things she had to worry about were school and picking out her next Homecoming dress. She had to be the good daughter, hold a pillar in the community because she was Pastor Fuller’s eldest child. Kate had taken the duty without protest, had done all the right things. She was a good, Christian girl who said her prayers at night. She didn’t lie, cheat, steal– she’s never even had sex.

But it wasn’t enough, apparently.

One minute her life was nothing but church functions and A.P. exams and boyfriend problems, and the next it was bills and dead-end jobs and being a caretaker at the tender age of nineteen. She’s lost everything except for her brother; even her dignity’s half gone by this point, and she wants to know _why_? She wants to know if God’s really given up on her? Once she thought that such a thing couldn’t be possible, that God loves all of his children and will never stop looking out for them.

Yet here she is, broke and tired and alone.

Her only means of survival has come in the form of two crooked brothers, illegal contracts and lies. It’s like the world is trying to make her a sinner. She wonders if this is some kind of penance for being such a flippant little girl all her life, even though her parents have already been taken away from her and that stings bad enough.

Richie was right when he said things happen for a reason, but what could be the reason for this? How is there any sense in the world doing ugly things to innocent little girls? It’s like life is trying to turn her into a monster, trying to break her. Kate’s always felt like she has the means to survive, but at what point does survival become meaningless?

“You look like you could use someone to talk to.”

Kate blinks, looks up wide-eyed at the man standing next to her. He’s very tall so she has to bend to see his face– he looks strong, dark skin pulled taught over large muscles. The angles of his face are hard, withered, but his eyes are kind. Kate can tell instantly that he’s a fighter, that the world’s been cruel to him, too, but he’s still going forwards.

“I guess I could,” she says.

The man gives her a soft smile, sits down next to her on the pew and stretches his long legs out in front of himself. He’s wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt like Kate herself is, but she can see the dog-tags hanging around his neck, the word _Sergeant_ shining in the afternoon sun as the tags jingle.

“My name’s Frost,” he says. “I’m a Deacon here, so your secrets are safe with me.”

“Thank you, Frost. I’m Kate,” she answers, smiling at him shyly.

“What brings you here today, Kate?” Frost asks, and she notices how coarse the lines of his hands are, how gentle.

Kate shrugs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously. “I think I’ve gotten myself into some kind of trouble,” she says.

“ _What_ kind of trouble?” Frost asks, and he seems completely open to any answer she’s willing to give, and something about that reminds Kate of her father, makes her want to tell this man everything.

“The illegal kind,” Kate whispers, and Frost nods understandingly for her to go on. “I kind of– I’m kind of marrying someone for money so they can get their green card.”

“I see,” Frost says, taking her words in stride.

“I mean, at least, I _was_ going to marry him,” Kate says. “Now, I’m not so sure?”

“What made you change your mind?” Frost asks.

“I found out he’s done worse than this,” Kate says, doesn’t want to mention any names because she feels like it would be betraying the Geckos by doing so, and something inside of her cringes at the idea of it. “He kind of works for, um, well…”

“Anything you have to say is okay, Kate,” Frost says. “I’ve probably heard worse.” He grins at her and it makes her insides warm, makes her feel like she’s safe and trusted for the first time in a very long while.

Kate takes a deep breath, lets it out and closes her eyes. “He works for a drug cartel. And his boss wants to meet me.”

“I see,” Frost says. “And you don’t want involved in that?”

Kate shakes her head, opens her eyes and sighs. “I agreed to marry him for the money because I’m trying to take care of my younger brother. Our parents died last year, and it’s so hard to make sure Scott’s okay now. I can’t afford for him to go to college, and I know that hurts him. I just want him to be okay– I want him to have a life where he can get by instead of having to be with me and struggle just to make rent.”

“What about _you_? What do you want?” Frost asks, and that takes Kate off-guard– it’s been a long time since someone’s asked her what _she_ ’s wanted and she’s said anything other than for her brother to be happy.

“I want life to be easy again,” Kate says honestly. “I want to know that I’m not failing my parents’ memory.”

“It sounds to me like you aren't,” Frost says. “You’re doing what you can to take care of your brother now that they can’t.”

“But it isn’t enough,” Kate says.

“What _is_ enough?” Frost answers.

That really catches Kate off-guard, eyebrows rising into her hairline. For a while she’s simply quiet, just thinking. Frost sits next to her patiently, staring up at the altar and letting her take her time.

Finally, Kate answers him with a simple, “I just want us to be happy.”

“Will getting the money from this make you happy?” Frost asks.

Kate nods. “I know that’s shallow, and that they say money can’t buy happiness, but it _can_ buy the things that make you happy– like Scott getting into college and doing what he wants with his life.”

“But you’re afraid of the profession that man you’re going to marry is in,” Frost says.

“Yes,” Kate answers. “It’s wrong to lie and cheat the government– I get that. But I also know people do it a lot, and the chances of getting caught with this are slim. I thought I could handle that– I _can_ handle that. But to know the man I’m supposed to marry until further notice also does something _else_ illegal on the side? Something that ruins people’s lives? I don’t know if I can live with myself.”

Frost sets his lips together, stares at her for a moment before blowing out a deep breath. “Can I level with you here, Kate?”

Kate nods.

“I used to be in the army,” he says, and Kate isn’t all that surprised by it– Frost has the looks of a military man, and Kate realizes those dog-tags really aren’t just for show. “I saw a lot of messed up shit while I was on my tours, and not all of it was from what we called the enemy. Most of it was from us– America isn’t as great as we think it is.

“But, the thing is, even though I knew bad things were happening, I also knew I couldn’t stop them. I knew that what I _could_ do, was not do the bad things myself. The only thing a person ever can do is make choices that _they_ can live with.

“This man you’re marrying– what he does for a living is _his_ choice. It isn’t yours. The only choice you’re making is marrying him for your own reasons. If you can live with that, isn’t that all that really matters?” Frost asks. “If bad things have happened in your life, and the only thing to do to get out of them and help yourself, help your brother, is do more bad things, then isn’t it worth a shot? Sometimes people can’t always be holy– it’s the sad truth of the world, but that’s just how it is.”

“But won’t God be mad at me?” Kate asks. “I already feel like He is.”

“I thought the same thing when I came back from the war,” Frost says. “Even though I tried to make good decisions, sometimes I just couldn’t. I had to hurt people, and that’s hard to live with. I had a real bad stint for a while afterwards– got addicted to drugs, pushed away everyone who ever loved me. But then one day I walked into this church just like you, and I realized that God hadn’t given up on me so much as I’d given up on him.”

“I didn’t want to give up,” Kate whispers, tears suddenly running down her cheeks but she doesn’t bother to stop them– it’s been a long time since she’s allowed herself to cry, and it feels relieving to let everything out and not be judged. “My dad, he was a preacher, but after my mom died, he stopped believing. He gave up. And I guess…I guess after he died, I gave up too. I lost hope.”

“You should never lose hope,” Frost says.

“But where’s the light at the end of the tunnel?” Kate asks, her hands shaking.

Frost grins. “Sometimes you have to stop searching for the light, and decide to become it instead,” he says.

 

* * *

 

 

His phone rings.

“Kate, is that you?”

“Hey, Richie.”

 “Oh my God, _Kate_. How are you? Are you okay? I understand if you hate us, I–”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Oh.”

“What time is dinner this Saturday?”

 

* * *

 

 

Seth can’t seem to stop his body from bouncing.

For a moment he wonders if he’s going to have a panic attack– it’s been a long time since he’s had one, but he knows they aren’t completely gone. They started happening after the fire, after he and Richie got thrown into the foster system. It took their Uncle Eddie five years to get them out, and in that time span Seth had become something of a wreck. He was so medicated for his anxiety thanks to the various therapists his foster parents had sent him to, that by the time Uncle Eddie moved him and Richie in, Seth was practically a zombie.

The withdrawal from the meds had been the worst part though, panic attacks coming in full over the stupidest shit. He remembers this one time when he was cleaning Uncle Eddie’s guns, and he dropped the clip and broke the case. All Seth could think was that his dad was going to walk in any moment and beat the living shit out of him, and then he was hyperventilating and blacking out. Next thing he knows, he was waking up in the emergency room with Richie sitting in bed next to him.

“What happened?” Seth asked.

"You made yourself pass out,” Richie says. “You hit your head on the coffee table as ya fell over, and you’ve got a concussion. Fucking idiot.”

“I was thinking about dad,” Seth admitted. “I kind of…I kind of lost it.”

 And Richie got this dark look on his face, the one he always get when their dad is brought up as a subject of conversation. “He can’t hurt you anymore,” Richie said.

“I know,” Seth answered. “But sometimes I just…I forget.”

They were doing their first job for Carlos under Uncle Eddie’s instructions a few months later, and eventually, Seth’s panic attacks went away. He doesn’t know if it’s just something that happened with age, or something that happened with finally not giving a shit about anything. Seth figures it must be the latter though, because he gives a shit about tonight, and it’s freaking him the fuck out.

“It helps if you breathe in for four, hold for seven, and breathe out for eight.”

Seth looks up, Kate walking into the room with Richie rolling up behind her and _wow_ – she’s got on this really nice dress, dark green in color so it compliments her eyes, and the seams hug her in all the right places. It’s modest, sure, but _fuck_ if the little hem that drops above her knees isn’t a tease to the eyes. And she’s got her hair down, all soft brown curls and sweet pink lips behind the veil of it.

Brando steps in when Seth doesn’t make a move to get up, too shocked and stuck to the couch. The dog rushes Kate and hops up on her, Kate giggling and scratching his ears as he licks her face and smudges her lip gloss.

It spurs Seth into action, because how _dare_ that damn dog make a travesty of such a pretty sight. Not for the first time, Seth regrets letting Richie get the fucking horse of a mutt, pulls Brando off of Kate and tells him the heel.

“You look nice,” Seth says after, the first words he’s spoken to her in days since she ran out and left him feeling like a real fucking bastard for getting her into all of this, even if it was her choice.

“Thanks,” Kate blushes, glances over her shoulder and nods at Richie. “Richie picked it out.”

“We paid for it, too,” Richie says. “Seems only fair considering we’re asking Kate to stick her neck out for us, _again_.”

“Right,” Seth says, clears his throat as his earlier anxieties come back. “Guess we should get going then– no need to piss Carlos off any more than his general demeanor already calls for.”

They all pile into the van then, Kate sitting in the passenger seat as Richie prattles on and on to her about the latest book he’s reading while smoking a cigarette. Kate smiles at him good-heartedly, and for a moment Seth wonders how much he’s really missed between the two of them. He knows that Richie likes Kate, that that’s a big deal because Richie doesn’t like _anybody_ , but he hadn’t realized they’re best fucking friends all of a sudden.

Something sticks in his ribs at that, taste of jealousy on the back of his tongue. Because to say Seth doesn’t like Kate, too, would be a lie. Despite having a set of balls to rival his own when he tries to get under her skin, she’s showed nothing but kindness in her person. She’s soft and sweet, putting her brother ahead of herself even though that’s not really her responsibility to bear. He knows she understands him in some abstract way, and he understands her, too.

 _Jesus Christ_ , Seth thinks, wondering when he turned into such a big sap.

Carlos has a big place he keeps for get-togethers on the north side of the city, and it doesn’t take long to get there. Seth parks the van in the circle drive, swallows nervously when he sees the two lackeys Carlos has guarding the door.

“Remember the story, princess?” Seth asks, turning to look at Kate.

“Richie and I only went over it a million times on the phone last night,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“I need to hear it from you,” Seth says. “The trick of this is being believable. All the best were, like Pacino and Brando and De Niro. You’ve got to make Carlos think you’re not a threat, no matter what. Doesn’t matter if we know you won’t tell– he has to, too.”

Kate sighs, bites her lower lip and looks back at Richie who nods at her in encouragement. “We met three months ago when you came into my job at Kahuna. We went on a couple of dates, fell in annoying, dopey love. When we realized that you’re about to be deported, we decided to get married.”

“Good enough,” Seth nods. “Just pretend like you like me, okay?”

“I do like you,” Kate says, which shocks him.

“I mean _like_ me, princess,” Seth says. “Want to jump my bones, like me.”

For her part, Kate blushes. Seth lets out a long breath, thinking that this is all going to end by blowing up in their faces. At least he won’t have to worry about being deported anymore if they’re all dead, he figures.

Between Kate and Seth, they get Richie out of the van pretty quick and setup in his wheelchair. Afterwards, Seth reaches over and grabs Kate’s hand. She looks up at him, cheeks still rose tinted. He smiles are her reassuringly, and she takes a deep breath, seeming to settle. Seth likes that him touching her does that– he figured it was a long shot to try, figured she probably still hates his guts or is at least terrified of him for getting her involved in all of this, but somehow there’s this steady current between them. It’s like a warm buzz, a sort of familiarity that only comes with recognition and empathy.

And, after a few steady moments of contact, Kate’s posture changes, becoming a lot less anxious and a lot more confident. She leans heavily into Seth’s side, body warm and supple, fitting to his perfectly. He takes a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her strawberry shampoo and vanilla body lotion along with something else entirely Kate– it makes him dizzy for a moment, and he has to shake himself out of it before he walks them up the front steps, Carlos’ lackeys coming to drag Richie with.

“Brasi, Caló,” Richie salutes the two men after they set him and his wheelchair down; the lackeys look confused, and Seth simply rolls his eyes, dropping Kate’s hand to wrap an arm protectively around her waist in case his brother’s big mouth gets them in trouble.

Carlos answers the door within the next minute, looking dashing as ever with a trimmed suit and shiny Italian shoes. Seth tries to conceal his scowl, heart speeding up as Carlos smiles like a snake and starts taking Kate in. His eyes linger a little too long for Seth’s liking though, and it’s good Carlos starts talking when he does.

“Welcome, welcome,” Carlos says, opening the doors wider. “Do come in. _Mi casa es su casa_.”

He waves them forwards, and Seth glances down at Kate, finds her biting her lip nervously as she follows inside. Seth stays glued to her side as Carlos shows them through the lavish front parlor and into the dining room. It’s set for a feast, long table lined with a tablecloth the color of blood. There are only four places set even though the table could seat twenty, and Carlos sits down at the head of it all.

Richie takes the left side of him, needing more space for his wheelchair. Seth pulls out Kate’s chair for her, and she thanks him quietly before meeting his eyes for one, panicked moment. Seth sits down next to her quickly and grabs her hand under the table, feels her pulse jumping in her wrist where his fingers overlap.

“It is very nice to meet you, Katelyn,” Carlos says once they’re all settled and wine has been poured, one of the many female attendants Carlos keeps informing them all that dinner will be served shortly.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Madigal,” Kate says, her voice coming out clear despite her nerves.

“Please,” Carlos chuckles. “Call me Carlos. We are all friends here, are we not?”

Kate grins, and Seth thanks any God willing to listen that her smile could bring any man to his knees, apparently even one as sadistic as Carlos by the sudden enamored expression on the man’s face. “Yes, we are,” Kate says. “And I wanted to thank you, for inviting me to your home, I mean. It’s so very beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Carlos says, nodding his head humbly– Seth resists the urge to roll his eyes. “The pleasure is all mine. Seth said that you were quite the girl, but it seems I underestimated his words.”

Kate blushes, hand constricting around Seth’s under the table. Things get quiet again for a few minutes as the appetizer is served– some kind of soup that tastes a little bit too much like squash for Seth’s liking, but he swallows it down anyways because it’s the polite thing to do. Because, even though he’s the biggest, most twisted bastard Seth’s ever met, Carlos is all about politeness.

“So, Kate, do tell me how you and Seth met,” Carlos says once the main dish is served.

Kate nearly chokes on her piece of chicken when trying to swallow too quickly, takes a big gulp of wine afterwards. For a moment Seth wishes that it was water– she admitted when she was over at their house the other day that she doesn’t drink, and Carlos always serves the strong stuff. Seth wonders how much it’ll take to get Kate drunk, and if she’s the type of drunk who can’t hold secrets.

“Well,” Kate says. “Until recently, I was working at the Kahuna Burger in Del Rio. Seth came in one day and it was…well–” Kate widens her eyes dreamily– “It was love at first sight. I was so excited when he asked for my number before he left, and then we went out that Saturday night.”

“Ah, the promised first date,” Carlos says. “Where did you go?”

Seth looks over at Richie when Kate doesn’t answer right away, wondering how in-depth with this rehearsal they went. Apparently not well enough, because Richie’s staring back at Seth with a look of worry that only Seth would be able to recognize. That combined with Richie’s cheeks stuffed nervously with the tomato side dish even though Richie _hates_ tomatoes makes Seth think they’re fucked. For a moment he uses his free-hand to reach towards the gun he always keeps tucked in the back waistband of his pants, but then Kate starts talking and he freezes.

“It’s kind of cliché,” Kate giggles. “But we went to the movies.”

“Which one did you go see?” Carlos asks, trying to dig as deep as he can get.

“Which one _did_ we see, Seth?” Kate asks, batting her lashes at him, and _damn_ , when she adds in a little, “I was so distracted by you that I forgot,” as extra, he thinks she does a near better acting job than Pacino.

“We saw an old rerun of Sin City,” Seth laughs. “I was trying to school Katie here in the classics, but I guess it didn’t work.”

“All I remember is that it was in black and white,” Kate shrugs. “And it had Bruce Willis.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t watch it,” Richie inputs. “It’s a piece of _art_ , Kate.”

Kate shrugs, giggling again as she takes another sip of wine. “Like I said, distracted.”

“How endearing,” Carlos says, taking a bite of his dinner before pointing his fork at Seth flippantly. “So I assume you’ve become intimately familiar with Seth’s job by now then, Kate, if you’re willing to marry him.”

“I know a little,” Kate says, shifting in her seat. “But it doesn’t bug me. I understand that the world we live in can be harsh, and making money is difficult.”

“Hmm, yes, it is,” Carlos says, scrutinizing her. “But you won’t have to worry about that now that you and Seth are getting married.”

Seth feels like this is his time to break in then, swallows a bite of something too spicy and cringes. “I didn’t like her working at Kahuna,” he says. “Her manager was a dick, and now that she’s with me, I’m gonna take care of her.” For extra measure, he leans over and kisses Kate’s cheek, feels her freeze momentarily before she turns and grins at him falsely, heat rising up into her cheeks again and _holy shit_ , Seth’s just kissed her and her skin was so soft and she smelled so good and he–

“So you’re not just marrying him for the money?” Carlos asks, ruining the moment, which he’s always been quite good at doing.

Kate shakes her head. “As bad as it sounds,” she says. “I count his deportation as a blessing. He’d been dropping hints about proposing, and Richie even asked my ring size, but getting the notice was finally the push that made Seth propose. You know how he can be, after all– doesn’t like getting too mushy and all that.” Kate elbows Seth in the ribs for good measure and he grunts, figuring that’s payback for kissing her without permission.

“And you are a completely legal citizen to ensure everything goes through?” Carlos asks.

“Texas born and raised,” Kate laughs. “I’m just sad Seth couldn’t get my daddy’s blessings. I know he would’ve though.”

“Ah, yes, I heard about your parents,” Carlos says, even though Seth never did tell him; he knows damn well that Carlos somehow got a hold of the same files as Richie, knows everything about Kate now. It makes Seth seethe to think about that– something protective settles in his gut and he wants to rip all that information away from Carlos, wants to irrationally keep Kate safe from the man’s ragged clutches. “I am sorry for your loss.”

 “Thank you,” Kate says.

“I know you are taking care of your brother, too,” Carlos says. “How come he could he not join us tonight? I would have  _loved_ to meet him."

Kate swallows nervously, can hear the threat in Carlos’ voice as well as anyone else in the room. “He’s over at a friend’s house,” Kate says. “We’re going to be moving after the wedding, and I want him to have as much time with his friends as possible before then.”

“I see you care about him very much,” Carlos says. “I hope you never lose him.”

Seth bites his tongue, grips into Kate’s hand so hard she has to cough to disguise a whimper. Seth loosens his hold a little, but he’s still so mad that Carlos has just so blatantly threatened her that he could pull out his gun and shoot Carlos right here. It’s not like it would be the first time he’s shot anyone point-blank now– Carlos made sure of that when he had Seth murder Alberto.

“Me neither,” Kate says, her voice cracking.

“So Carlos,” Richie says then, quick to come to her defense, and for once Seth is thankful that his brother is so enamored with Kate. “Seth and Kate have set the date for next week so we have plenty of time to get the papers turned into the INA. We wanted to know if you’d like to come to the wedding?”

“Where will it be held?” Carlos asks, viper-like demeanor quickly turning placid.

“A small church downtown,” Richie says. “We didn’t have time to plan anything too big.”

“ _Nonsense_!” Carlos says, and his voice is so loud that Kate jumps a bit in her seat.

Seth looks over at her, at the way she’s sweating and biting her lower lip nervously. He gets the worst idea in his head suddenly to kiss her again, distract her. Something inside of him wants to make her feel so good she’ll forget everything she’s afraid of– he wants to make her forget how bad the world’s been to her. Because he knows what that feels like– he knows what it’s like to keep everything bottle up inside until it feels like your fucking skin is going to split open so your demons can come pouring out. He doesn’t want that for Kate– he doesn’t want the world to snuff her inner light out.

“No way am I having Eddie Gecko’s nephew have some mediocre second wedding!” Carlos says– Kate balks at the words _second wedding_ , and Seth sighs internally, knowing he’ll have to explain the hell that was his marriage to Vanessa to her later. “Why, you will have the wedding here. And all our friends will be invited.

“Oh you don’t have to do that,” Kate says. “On such short notice…”

“It is not a problem, _querida_ ,” Carlos says, giving a flippant wave of his hand. “We do things on a whim here all the time. I have the finest event planners in the country at my discrepancy– it will be no problem for them to put something together in a week. This way you can invite everyone you know, and meet everyone _Seth_ knows.”

“Even Razor Charlie?” Seth asks before he can help himself.

Carlos glares in answer. “Yes, even Razor Charlie.”

Seth looks down at his plate, knowing to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the night.

Carlos goes over wedding plans then as they all eat desert, asking Kate about color schemes and cake flavors. For her part, Kate takes it all in stride, but by the end of it her hand is shaking inside of Seth’s. Her pulse is racing so fast under his fingertips it’s like a hummingbirds’. He wonders for a second if she’s having a panic attack, is sure of it when Kate excuses herself on wobbly legs to use the restroom as coffee is served post desert.

“She’s quite the catch, Seth,” Carlos says after calling an attendant to show Kate to the bathroom, the two women disappearing into the hall. “Very beautiful, very _young_.”

“Seth’s got a daddy kink,” Richie shrugs, sipping at his espresso; Seth curses the width of the table because he can’t kick Richie beneath it in reply for that fuckass comment.

“I see,” Carlos snorts. “You know, I _almost_ believe your little love story. But tell me, gentlemen, what street corner did you find her on?”

“Ex _cuse me_ ,” Seth says, choking up a sip of his coffee. “She’s not– Kate’s not a fucking prostitute.”

“She sure has the acting skills down,” Carlos says. “So maybe you pulled her from drama school, then?”

“You know we didn’t,” Richie says.

“She’s just a poor kid who needs the money,” Seth says, staring down at where his coffee has splattered darkly onto the table from when he choked on it. He figures it's best to cut to the chase, not draw their eminent deaths out. “She’s trying to take care of her brother, so she can’t risk getting arrested by snitching.”

“So why lie to me about it?” Carlos asks, stirring his cup methodically.

“We knew you’d be upset about Seth fucking up and getting his ass deported before the big deal,” Richie says, eyes moving back and forth calculatingly behind his glasses. Seth knows he’s planning attack and escape strategies just in case, because Seth’s doing the same thing. “And that you don’t like outsiders.”

“I really don’t,” Carlos says, takes a drink from his cup before setting it down with a defining _clink_. “But seeing as how the Lords requested you two specifically for the big deal, I’m going to let all of this slide.”

“You are?” Seth asks, not believing it.

Carlos nods, dabbing the side of his mouth with a crisp, white napkin. “I am. _But_ , you must agree to keep young Katelyn in line. As far as everyone else is concerned, the story you have concocted for your relationship with her is true. No one needs to know the reality of it beside the three of you, and me.”

“Of course,” Richie says, looking up at Seth with skepticism. “Did you still want to throw the wedding, then?”

“Yes,” Carlos says. “And, I want Kate to move in with the two of you.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kate falls asleep on the ride back to the Gecko house.

Richie sits in the back smoking away his nerves, while Seth tries to keep his eyes on the road. They constantly flitter back to Kate though, at the exhaustion written in the lines of her body.

When she came back from the bathroom, Carlos told her the gig was up. He explained his rules, telling her that if she did anything to violate them, he would kill her and Scott without a second thought. Kate nodded her understanding, but Seth could tell she was terrified. And when Carlos told her she had to move in with Seth and Richie, forget any semblance of formality Kate had left. She simply looked down at the table and went mute until they were allowed to leave fifteen minutes later, Carlos seeing them off with a simple, “Remember your promise, Katelyn. I’ll be keeping an eye on you and your new family.”

She didn’t speak the few minutes she was awake into the drive either. Neither Seth nor Richie knew what to say to her, so they just kept quiet.

“We’re going to Hell,” Richie says eventually, when they’re about ten minutes away from the house.

“You think?” Seth asks.

“I’m so fucking stupid,” Richie says. “I thought for sure she was _the one_.”

“The one _what_ , Richard?” Seth hisses. “The one we pick to screw up her entire life? You know what she’s probably thinking about us right now–”

“She’s not thinking, she’s asleep–”

“Shut the fuck up, Richard,” Seth snaps. “Because she’s fucking thinking we’re the devil. She’s thinking we’re her death sentence. She’s thinking she should’ve steered clear of us, because we’re two fucking bad men who lured a teenage girl into a trap with the promise of easy money since we knew she needed it. She’s _nineteen_ years old, Richard, and we took advantage of her. She doesn’t even know how the world works, and we already fucked it up.”

“She knows how the world works,” Richie says. “You _saw_ her life before this–”

“Yeah, I did,” Seth says. “It sucked, sure. But at least she didn’t have the threat of _death_ on her head unless she becomes my goddamn mistress.”

“She doesn’t have to be your mistress,” Richie scoffs. “She just has to live with us.”

“What kind of life is that for a girl her age?” Seth fires back. “She should be on her own, should be having her own chance at life. And now for the next three to five years, she’s stuck with _us_.”

“But she’s our friend,” Richie says childishly.

“She ain’t our friend, Richie,” Seth scowls at him in the rear-view mirror. “She’s just a girl we’re paying to get me a green card. At least, she _was_. Now she’s nothing more than our goddamn _hostage_. Her and her brother both.”

“We can make her comfortable,” Richie says.

Seth sighs, knows his brother’s never been good with social things, but _goddamn_ , he just ain’t getting it. “No we can’t, Richie. We’re not her parents. We’re not her family. We’re not her lovers, or her friends. We’re just two strange men who have fucked her over, and the only thing she’s gonna get out of it is some cash and a serious case of PTSD.”

“Well it’s too late now,” Richie huffs. “We may as well make the best of it.”

“This isn’t about _us_ ,” Seth growls. “It’s about _Kate_.”

There’s silence in the van for a long time after that, and they make it back to the house before Richie finally says, “I told you you’d like her.”

“Shut up, Richard,” Seth says tiredly, helps him out of the van before opening the passenger door and pressing on Kate’s shoulder softly. “Time to get up, princess.”

Kate bats his hand away and makes a soft, adorable little yawning sound as she rolls over in her seat. “Too tired. Five more minutes, daddy,” she says, and Seth _really_ should not feel his dick twitch when the word _daddy_ comes out of her mouth, just like he shouldn't have when he saw her for the first time, or when she stood up to him that first night, or when he ran into her in the hall the other day, or when he saw her in that dress tonight, or when he kissed her at dinner--  _shit_.

“Oh fuck,” he says, looks at Richie and back to Kate before blowing air through his teeth and scooping her up.

He carries her into the house and up the guest room on the second floor, setting her down gently on the bed there. For a moment he doesn’t do anything, before figuring he should at least make her comfortable. So he unloops her purse from her shoulder and sets it on the nightstand, takes off her heels and sets them on the floor. Then he pulls back the covers and tucks her in, smoothing her hair away from her face afterwards.

“Seth,” she murmurs softly when he pulls away, and he freezes in place, thinking she’s woken up, only to watch her yawn again and roll over before she starts snoring softly.

It takes him a full minute to leave the room after that– he just stands there looking at her, at the way she’s so small and sweet, and how he’s going to ruin that. He’s ruined others before, and now he’s going to ruin Kate too.

"'Night, baby girl," he finally says before leaving and closing the door behind him.

He goes down to the living room and finds Richie there sorting through an box on the coffee table and puffing at another cigarette, Brando sitting at his side and nibbling on a marrow bone, getting slobber on the carpet.

“What the hell’s in that?” Seth asks, pointing at the box.

Richie pulls out a heavy stack of books and plops them on the table. “Marriage counseling manuals– you know, the ones Vanessa tried to make you read before you guys got divorced.”

“What the hell did you pull those out for?” Seth asks.

Richie shrugs. “Well, I figure we may as well _try_ to make you more likable if Kate’s stuck with you.”

Seth scoffs. “I’m _plenty_ likable,” he says.

“Yeah,” Richie says, rolling his eyes. “And I'm Bela Lugosi.”

Seth continually glares at his brother for a long couple of minutes, before eventually getting bored and plopping down on the couch next to him. “I need a drink,” Seth says.

Richie holds up a bottle of tequila from his side without even glancing over. “Figured that.”

Seth takes the bottle from him and drinks out of it until he can’t breathe, pulls the lip back and coughs. “It’s like angels pissing on my heart,” he says, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head against the burn.

“Ah man,” Richie says, looking over then. “This is gonna take a lot of work.”

“Just read your fucking books,” Seth scowls.

“Whatever you say, brother,” Richie says. “But I’m not the one who’s getting _married_ in a week.”

“Shit,” Seth says, impact of Richie’s words hitting him harder than the tequila– he figures he should probably drink more to fix that, and raises the bottle in mock toast. “Well, here’s to a happy marriage between me and the preacher’s daughter, then.” He takes a long pull, spluttering after he’s done.

“And you say _I’m_ the whack-job,” Richie mutters, flipping open another book.

 

 

 

 

 


	4. With this ring, I turn myself into a common criminal.

 

 

Seth fixes his tie, straightens out the blue silk of it and sighs as he looks at himself in the mirror. The face staring back at him is a traitor, a bad man who’s got so much blood on his hands that it makes Seth sick to look for too long.

“I don’t know if I can do it,” Seth calls out to Richie, who’s in the bathroom.

They’re set up in Carlos’ house, a room to themselves to get ready before the ceremony. Kate’s on the next floor, a method of trying to keep the bride away from the groom so he doesn’t see her and cause bad luck. There’s hundreds of people downstairs, the back gardens all decked out and ready to go. It only took Carlos four days to get this all set-up– Seth thinks that having a wedding on a Wednesday is stupid, but Carlos called all of his friends and staff for the event, said they had to come as part of the job description.

“ _Ug_.” Richie scoffs from the bathroom, and Seth can see half his face behind the cracked door. “I’m trying to shit here, Seth. Do you mind not talking? You’re breaking my focus.”

“Who are you, Elliot from Scrubs?” Seth snorts, glances around the lavish room and tries not to look out the window, at the backyard where there’s a bunch of villains waiting to watch him say _I do_.

“Fuck you,” Richie snaps.

A few moments later Seth hears the toilet flush, some shifting as Richie sets himself up in his wheelchair and washes his hands. He comes out fully dressed, suit crisp and his tie set to match Seth’s. His cast looks weird poking out of the suit leg with all of it– there’s Seth’s name written in sharpie on the underside as well as a picture of a dick because Seth thought it would hilarious to draw at the time when Richie first got the thing. Luckily that’s covered, but Seth can see Kate’s pretty handwriting on Richie’s foot, _get better soon_  scrawled under her name and that’s a bit painful to notice.

Seth realizes once again how he’s about to condemn a girl who’s young and kind to a life of dangerous bullshit, and there’s nothing he can do about it now unless he’s okay with getting them all dead.

“Jesus, now I’m going to be uncomfortable during the whole wedding,” Richie says, smoothing his hair back.

“Pussy,” Seth smirks, and when Richie flips him the bird it helps to settle his nerves a bit from the familiarity.

“I wonder if Kate’s as nervous as you?” Richie says, pulling out a cigarette; technically they’re not allowed to smoke inside– something about five-thousand dollar wallpaper that the smoke would ruin– but like either of them give a shit about Carlos’ rules after all the bastard’s made them do.

“Probably more,” Seth says, glancing at the floor above as he hears movement. He looks back and motions for Richie to hand him a cigarette of his own so he can cheaply try to settle his nerves. He already took a mixture of Klonopin and Xanax this morning, whiskey to get it down, but that's starting the wear off. “She’s marrying a criminal, after all.”

Richie inhales off of his cigarette, breathes out the smoke and waves it away with his hand carelessly. “Well,” he says. “There’s really no going back at this point.

Seth sighs, blows smoke through his nostrils. "Well then, let's get rambling."

 

* * *

 

 

“You look beautiful, _cariño_ ,” says one of the women Carlos sent to help Kate get ready as she adjusts the hemline of Kate’s wedding dress.

Kate smiles at the woman softly, trying to hold back tears. She does look nice, all things considered. Her dress is made of the finest materials, a frosty white that’s flawless. The skirt is large and silky, branching out around Kate’s hips and legs like a princess gown. The top of the dress is a bit tighter, with a sweetheart neckline and no sleeves. There’s little eyelet buttons all down its back, floral patterns sewn in with lace on the front. The women have done Kate’s hair up in intricate twists, pearl pins keeping it all together. Her makeup is sweet and simple, perfect for a summer bride.

But it all hurts to look at.

After the dinner with Carlos on Saturday, Kate hasn’t been able to calm down. He threatened her, after all, threatened Scott. And now Kate has to move in with the Geckos. She has to marry Seth and live with him and pretend like she’s happy if she wants Carlos to leave her and her brother alone.

Not to mention she has to get married in front of hundreds of strangers.

That Sunday morning when Kate woke up after the dinner, she was shocked to realize the Geckos hadn’t taken her home, but set her up in one of the guest rooms instead. She looked around in wonder, her shoes on the floor and the sheets messy from the way she’d been tossing in her sleep. She’d been dreaming about Seth– about how safe she felt when he held her and the way her body hummed when he’d kissed her cheek, and she hadn’t expected that, not at all.

The memory made her blush, get up and stumble around the guest room, touching the dresser and nightstand, her eyes bleary in the morning light coming through the window. Would this be her room then, now that she has to move in with them? Or would Carlos expect her to stay in Seth’s room, really play the role of a wife? The idea made Kate start to hyperventilate, collapse down on the floor and shove her head between her knees.

Seth found her like that, came running in in nothing but his boxers because the sound of her falling woke him up. “Kate!” he said, shaking her.

She pushed him off, crying and coughing and choking because she couldn’t breathe. “I can’t…” she said, words coming out as sobs.

“Sweetheart,” Seth said then, setting a soft hand on her shoulder. “It’s just a panic attack, Katie. You’re okay. You just need to breathe.”

“I know that!” Kate snapped between gasps for air. “I used to– to get them all the time after…”

“After what?” Seth asked, and she looked up at him then, saw the concern in his eyes and it startled her, made her take in a shuddering breath, lungs filling up with oxygen.

“After my daddy died,” she whispered. “When it felt like the world was tumbling down and I couldn’t handle it.”

“I got them after my dad died, too,” Seth said, and she realized this was the most open he’d ever been with her, his guard down as he helped her up off of the floor, back onto the bed where he sat next to her and held her until her body stopped shaking. “That’s it,” he said through the process. “Easy, baby girl. You’re okay.”

“Why didn’t you take me home?” Kate asked after a while, hyperaware of his skin on hers, how warm he was. She’d never noticed before that he has a tattoo, inky flames running from wrist to scapula, like a love story on skin.

“I didn’t want you to be alone in case…” Seth started, and he didn’t have to finish for her to know he meant in case Carlos went back on his words, just killed Kate and got this whole mess over with.

“You were protectin’ me,” Kate said, pulled back from him and bit her lip– Seth stared at the gesture, letting his head nod slowly. “Thank you.”

She looked down at him then, at the bare lines of his torso, the sculpted muscle of his stomach and thighs. She’s always been aware of how pretty Seth is to look at, but now she was a bit mesmerized. He was touching her so intimately, her pretty green dress all ridden up and his eyes on her mouth. She had her hands on him too, one on his waist and the other on his tattoo, pressing into his bicep. She felt dizzy from it, from the way her heart was still beating explosively in her chest thanks to the panic attack she’d just had.

“You’re welcome,” he said, reached up slowly and pulled her lip from between her teeth, let his thumb linger on her lower lip, scorching and soft. “I know you’re scared, Kate, but I ain’t gonna let anything bad happen to you…”

“Is it bad that I trust you?” Kate asked, and she couldn’t help the way her eyes shifted to _his_ mouth.

“Absolutely,” Seth answered, and when he leaned in towards her, just a breath away, Kate let her eyes dropped closed, thinking it was funny how she could go from a state of panic one minute to a state of want the next…

It was just before Seth kissed her that Brando came tromping in, jumped up on the bed between them and barked. Kate jerked away from Seth with a start, blinking at him as he blinked at her.

“Hey!” Richie called from downstairs then– after breaking his leg he’d been sleeping in his office down there instead of his bedroom since he can’t get up the stairs anymore. “Everything okay?! I heard a crash and Brando went crazy and almost clawed the door off to get up there!”

“Everything’s fine!” Seth called back, not taking his eyes off Kate as she sat there still looking at him in bewilderment, a voice inside of her head screaming that she’d almost just _kissed_ him, a man who’s a liar and a criminal and a _thief_. A man who brought her to meet a drug lord who will kill her and Scott if Kate ever makes the simplest of mistakes in all this.

“Good!” Richie answered. “Then come down and make breakfast, bonehead! I’m starving!”

“Hold your fucking horses, Richard!” Seth said, glanced at the door as he shoved Brando over the side of the bed and the dog ran off, back down to Richie now that he knew everything was fine. Seth looked back at Kate then, at the way she’d crossed her arms over her middle protectively, guilt settling into her stomach. “Kate…” he said, reaching for her.

She stood up quickly, smoothing down her hair and dress. “I should get home,” she said frantically, and Seth stood too, looking hurt by her sudden rejection. “Scott’s probably worried…”

Seth’s expression softened then, always having understood her need for her brother. “I’ll call you a cab,” he said.

“Thanks,” Kate murmured, and kept her eyes on the floor as he left.

Finally she took a deep breath and scooped up her shoes, walking down the stairs and wanting to escape out the door and just wait for the cab on the curb without having to face either of the Geckos again. She felt like she was on the infamous walk of shame, tiptoeing to the front door until she heard the squeak of wheels and flinched.

“Kate?”

She plastered on a smile, turned to face Richie with false confidence. “Hey,” she said.

“What are you doing?” he asked, tilting his head to study her.

"Um, I need to go home and see if Scott’s okay, tell him what happened…” she muttered lamely, because she really, really didn’t want to tell Scott about what had happened the night before. He still didn’t even know that Seth and Richie are drug pushers for a living, let alone that their boss now has a watch on the Fullers in case Kate fucks up and he needs to kill her and Scott before they do any real collateral damage.

“Can’t you stay for breakfast?” Richie asked, and he was giving her the little boy pout he always does when she tries to leave him. Usually it works and he gets her to stay a while longer, but this time she just couldn’t.

“I…” she started, trying to think of an excuse other than the fact she couldn’t look at him right now without wanting to hit him because he was the one who offered her this deal knowing that it could get her in trouble. Yes, Kate was the one who said okay to all of this, but Richie had withheld the full truth of it, and she realized with a stark clarity that she was _mad_ at him for it. Irrationally, she’d trusted him. She’d trusted Seth, too.

And now all of that was ruined and she was terrified for her life.

“She’s gotta go, Richie,” Seth said then, walking into the entryway. He’d put pants on, his chest still bare though, that tattoo taunting Kate and making her cheeks flare with heat.

“But what about what we talked about last night?” Richie protested.

Kate’s brows drew together, mouth opening to ask if he meant about what they’d discussed with Carlos, or something else. Seth cut her off when he said, “We’ll talk about it later. Go home and tell Scott, princess. Get some rest. You’ll need it for when this wedding actually happens.”

And so Kate left, rode home and told Scott everything. For a while he was just silent about it, and then he asked if they really had to move in with the Geckos.

“I don’t see any other way,” Kate said. “Carlos wants this whole thing to look as official as possible so the government doesn’t get suspicious as to why Seth and I aren’t living together.”

“Are you still getting paid?” Scott asked.

“As far as I know,” Kate shrugged.

“Have you signed the lease for the new apartment yet?”

Kate shook her head. “I was supposed to soon, but now I’m gonna have to call and cancel.”

Scott nodded, was quiet again for a while before asking, “Do I at least get my own room?” with a sarcastic smile.

Kate laughed in relief at his quick acceptance for all of this, reached across the couch and hugged him, kissing his face and making Scott squirm and tell her to knock it off. “Yes,” she giggled. “You get your own room.”

So for the rest of the day she and Scott finished packing. Richie called that Monday to tell Kate Carlos already had everything put together, that he wanted the wedding to be on Wednesday so they had plenty of time to turn the papers into the I.N.A. once Seth and Kate were actually married.

“I thought he said a week,” Kate mumbled, panic bubbling up in her chest anew.

“I know,” Richie sighed. “I’m sorry, Kate.” And he meant it, that much she could tell, but she was still mad at him anyways.

“Okay. So I’ll meet you guys at Carlos’ house that morning,” she said.

“Can’t I see you before that?” Richie muttered, and the way he asked _I_  instead of _we_  made Kate even more disgruntled.

“Scott and I still have a lot of packing to do,” Kate lied, looking at the boxes of their things piled by the door. “Besides,” she said, tone going a little venomous. “You’ll see me all the time once we move in.”

“Kate…” Richie said softly, sounding hurt.

“I have to go, Richie,” she sighed. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”

Yesterday Kate went back to the church she met Frost at. He was there, sitting in the back row. Kate sat down next to him silently, waited until Frost was done praying and looked over at her.

"I'm getting married tomorrow," Kate said.

"I wish I could say congratulations," Frost answered her.

"Me too," Kate whispered.

Frost nodded, looked back up towards the altar, the cross with Jesus hanging on it, atoning for all their sins. "Are you happy, Kate?"

"No," she said.

"Are you going to be?" Frost asked.

Kate pushed her hair back nervously, looked up at the ceiling wishing God could give her the answer to the question. "I hope so."

"Hope is always good," Frost smiled.

For the rest of the day Kate wondered around Del Rio, finding the small aspects of the city she's going to miss. There isn't much, but she still felt bitter sweet after it all. She'll have to move in with Seth and Richie right after the wedding, and her life will be changed forever. All of it feels the same as last year, after her dad died, a situation she can't handle. She's having decisions forced on her once again, doing what she has to to live.

And she wonders if it'll ever get easier, if life will ever be simple again.

Kate still hasn’t got her answer, and she hasn't seen the Geckos yet, either, which makes her even more nervous. She and Scott took a bus up here to Carlos’ house, and the moment they walked up the front drive past strange cars and stranger people, Carlos met them on the front stoop.

“This must be Scott,” the man said, holding out a hand to the youngest Fuller. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Scott glared at Carlos’ hand, looked over to Kate and she nodded for him to act nice. Slanting his mouth to the side disapprovingly, Scott shook Carlos’ hand and the man smiled like a snake about to strike. He ushered Kate and Scott inside, saying that Seth and Richie weren’t there yet, but that it was a good thing because Seth shouldn’t see his bride before the wedding considering it’s bad luck, and all.

“I have a room waiting for you to get ready in, _más querido_ ,” he told Kate. “Scott, there’s one for you down the hall. Richie is Seth’s best man of course, but I figure you should also be in the wedding, no?”

“I wanted to give Kate away,” Scott said. “Since our dad can’t.”

“Ah,” Carlos said, false sympathy on his handsome face. “Do not worry about that, Scott. _I_ will be giving Kate away.”

"But–” Scott protested.

Carlos held up a hand to stop him. “It is only right,” Carlos said with conviction. “I am, after all, going to be like Kate’s father-in-law now. I have taken care of the Geckos and their family since they were young, so I will take care of her and you now, too.”

“Sure you will,” Scott said, and Kate could tell he was about to follow it up with something defiant and get them in trouble, but interrupted him with a hand to his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Scott,” she said, smiling at him sadly. “Carlos is right.”

“See,” Carlos said, leaning over to hug Kate around her shoulders; she tried her best not to cry out when his nails dug sharply into her skin. “We will all be one big, happy family now.”

Carlos led Kate and Scott to their separate rooms then, and Kate didn’t have even a moment to process everything and calm down before a Coventry of women were upon her, bathing her, tweaking her skin and hair, shoving her beautiful, perfect wedding dress on. They cooed over Kate, over how she must be so _in love_ and Kate played along because she knew she had to, the whole time holding back tears.

Now she looks at her reflection, at how she looks so lovely she could be on the cover of a bridal magazine. It’s obvious Carlos spared no expense for all of this. Her dress is obviously custom, made by a designer who knows all the ins and outs of bridal gowns. The house is done-up from bottom to top in flower arrangements of peonies and cacti and Spanish roses. There’s festive, elegant streamers on bannisters and rails. Little tea light candles in hand-blown Mexican glass bowls.

Kate can see the back garden from her window, the hedges all trimmed down and stuffed with bouquets. There’s white chairs lined up towards a white altar, the lattice of it wrapped with Spanish moss and more flowers. The aisle is made of white silk, scattered with rose petals. The women mainly talk in Spanish, but Kate knows enough from Alejandro and Gabriela to have understood that they are speaking of the reception while helping her get ready, how Carlos has tents set up past the gardens, filled to the brim with beautiful, exotic food and more flowers. There’s tables covered in white silk with bright blue ribbons around the chairs, colors incorporated into the topaz jewelry Kate has in her ears, around her neck and wrists and on her crystal, high-heeled shoes.

“ _He oído que el jefe alquiló un mariachi y un dj desde Houston..._ ” One says as she adjusts Kate’s hair before clipping in a veil that’s long and covered in Spanish lace, smiling at Kate with big, white teeth– Kate thinks she introduced herself as Maria.       

“ _Él fue todo lo posible para los Geckos, sorprendente. Pensaba que odiaba a esos hijos de puta..._ ” Another answers, adjusts her bridesmaid dress in the mirror– her name is Octavia. Kate didn’t invite anyone to the wedding– doesn’t have any friends besides Alejandro and Gabriela and Frost now, too, but she didn’t want them involved with all of this– so Carlos subbed some bridesmaids in for her with this party of women. They’re all nice enough and Kate’s glad for that, but she also wishes they’d stop talking about her like she’s not even in the room.       

“ _Él tiene como la novia. Ella es una dulzura tal, no es de extrañar. Quiero decir, ¿De qué otra gustaría Seth he establecido?_ ” asks another woman, Christina, her pretty brown skin being dusted with a coat of sparkles before she fixes her lipstick.

“ _Recuerdo su otra esposa. Carlos odiaba a esa chica. Demasiado fuego. Éste es perfecto sin embargo. Muy dócil..._ ” says the last bridesmaid, a plump, older women who’s obviously the matron of the group– all the others address her as Señorita Lopez. And her words make Kate bristle– she forgot to ask Seth about his first marriage after Carlos mentioned it the other night. She’s been wondering why Seth didn’t just ask his first wife to come back and marry him again to fix all of this, but apparently Carlos wouldn’t have approved anyways because the woman was too spirited.

But Kate’s _docile_ , and that makes her feel like a coward, used and abused and ready to be sacrificed at the altar.

“ _Cuál fue el nombre del primer esposa de Seth?_ ” Kate asks then, catching all of the women off-guard. They turn to look at her with equal looks of surprise and sheepishness now that they all know she understood everything they were saying.

“Vanessa,” answers Maria shyly. “She and Seth barely lasted a year before she left him.”       

“They always fought,” says Octavia, still pulling her dress down over her plump thighs with a warm smile at Kate. “But you and him, you seem good together, _cariño_.”

Kate sighs, nods her head and tries really hard not to start crying. The women all go back to adjusting then except for the leader of the group, wise eyes peering at Kate from the lounge she sits on at the edge of the large, canopied bed in the room.

“ _Usted no quiere hacer esto,_ ” Señorita Lopez says after a moment, not bothering to use English because she now knows Kate understands her perfectly well.

Kate freezes at the statement, trying hard to grope for a good lie. “No, I–”

“ _No sería la primera chica que tiene que hacer algo que no quieren, porque de Carlos Mandigal, chica. No hay necesidad de mentir a nosotros_ ,” the old woman says, and the others all turn to look at Kate in sympathy then, their eyes each holding an equal sadness.

“I don’t know what else to do,” Kate answers, her lower lip beginning to tremble.

“Oh, _miel_ ,” says Christina. She crowds into Kate’s space, reaches up to wipe tears from Kate’s lashes before she ruins her make-up. “It’ll be okay. Seth Gecko isn’t the best, but he also isn’t the worst.”

“Not bad to look at either,” says Maria, winking at her.

“I’d marry him over some of the sorry _pendejos_ out there any day. Once you see Razor Charlie, you’ll get what I mean,” says Octavia, fluffing up her curls. “Plus, I heard that Seth is great in bed.”

“ _Donde se enteró de que de, usted mujerzuela?_ ” asks Maria astoundedly.

“Senna Vasquez,” Octavia shrugs.

“ _Dormía con esa pequeña zorra?_ ” Christina gasps, looks over at Kate afterwards and blushes. “Oh, sorry, Kate.”

“It’s fine,” Kate says as Maria hands her a bridal bouquet stuffed with peonies and roses. “I don’t have to sleep with him anyways.”

“So you’re just going to go celibate the rest of your life?” Christina balks.

“I have thus far,” Kate mutters.

Maria coos at that. “Oh, you’re a _virgen_ on your wedding day! _Lo romántico_!”

Kate blushes, looking down at the floor as she hears the wedding march start outside, her pulse beginning to race.

“ _Silencio_ , Maria,” Señorita Lopez says then. “ _Todos ustedes, mostrar algo de respeto por la señorita Fuller_.”

The women all sober up then, look at Kate with sadness in their eyes once again.

“It’s going to be okay, _miel_ ,” Christina says, coming up to take Kate’s hand. “Just smile. It’s your wedding day. Be happy, at least for now.”

Kate glances out the window again, watches with wide eyes as Seth's familiar form walks down the aisle to stand at the altar, Richie wheeling up beside him. She thinks about how he held her the other day, about how warm he was. She thinks about Frost’s words, about how sometimes you have to stop looking for the light and become it instead.

Kate takes a deep breath, closing her eyes.

“Okay,” she says, letting her eyes open. “Let’s do this.”

 

* * *

 

 

Richie twitches guiltily in his wheel chair.

He kind of blames himself for a lot of this, but he also knows that everything happens for a reason. There was _no way_ it was just a coincidence that he and Seth picked Kahuna as the place to eat that day they met Kate, that Seth looked at her in a way he’d never looked at anyone else in his life.

Richie knows they were _meant_ to meet Kate, that they’re all supposed to be here right now. Because Kate’s the only girl who’s ever understood him and Seth, a thing Vanessa never could do. In the small amount of time she’s spent with them, Kate’s adapted to their way of life easily. She’s held her own. She’s young and brave and entirely pure, someone that makes human connection easy for Richie when others haven’t.

And she’s gotten Seth to open up, a thing he hasn’t done in a long time. Sometimes it’s hard for even Richie to get Seth out of his shell, but Kate has a way of making him open up instantaneously. Usually Seth’s the man that’s cool and confident, does his job and holds his head high. But Kate makes him slip up.

Kate makes Seth question his _humanity_ , and that’s big, because usually Seth likes to live in a perpetual state of denial about it. Richie’s always had his own personal ideas of good and bad figured out, but Seth fluctuates on them all the time. Kate seems to bring him to a standstill, seems to make him want to be a better man.

And maybe that spells bad things for all of them, but Richie also think it has its purpose. He’s felt something big coming on the horizon for a long time now, and he knows greater things are at play here. He knows that Kate _belongs_ with them, and that eventually she and Seth will see that the way he does.

Especially when the bridal march goes up in full, and everyone turns to watch as four bridesmaids come down the aisle. Scott’s leading the first one who has sparkles all over her and is giggling at the youngest Gecko fondly until he comes to stand next to Richie and Seth after they reach the altar.

“Hey, Bruce Lee,” Richie says, trying to be witty because he and Scott talked about the famous actor that first day they met, and he thinks it’ll make Scott calm down and stop scowling.

He just glares at Richie instead, looks back at the aisle as the other three bridesmaids walk up and take their places. Then everyone stands, the back doors of the house opening and Carlos walking out, Kate’s arm in his as she marches slowly behind him, a soldier following orders.

But, god, she looks _beautiful_. Like all the nice versions of the visions Richie doesn’t _see_ anymore, her body glowing, soul bright. Richie looks up at his brother then, watches the way Seth’s eyes widen at the sight of Kate and it looks like his brother’s seeing the world for the first time. His mouth hangs open and he can’t stop staring at Kate, soaking the image up, his hands fisting at his sides as Kate gets closer and closer.

Richie smirks, because he just _knew_ it.

And then he turns back to look at Kate, smiling proudly. Carlos stops with her just at the edge of the altar, lifts her veil and slings it over her head before leaning in to kiss both of her cheeks and whisper something in her ear. Kate pales at that, her entire body freezing up and Richie blinks as he watches a spot of red start to branch out on her dress, getting brighter and wider until it looks like she’s covered in _blood_.

Richie lurches up in his wheelchair, about to cry out to her but then Kate turns and Seth offers her his hand– when they touch the blood is suddenly gone, replaced with crisp, white bridal gown. Richie blinks, swallowing down his sudden hysteria.

Is he _seeing_ again?

He shakes it off though, watches as Seth and Kate come to stand before the preacher that Carlos brought in.

“Who gives this woman to this man today?” asks the preacher, deep accent overlaying on his words.

“I do,” Carlos says, and next to Richie, Scott shifts. “God bless their holy union.”

Everyone crosses themselves except for Kate, Seth, Scott and Richie, who all look at one another with trepidation, knowing this is it, this is make it or break it, the con of holy matrimony ever pulled off.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…” begins the preacher, and then the man’s words begin to blend together, an endless loop of dialogue before he asks, “If anyone has just reason as to why these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

Richie watches Kate’s mouth open then, watches as Seth squeezes her hands and shakes his head. Kate gazes back at him with a pleading sort of look, and Seth moves closer to her, until their bodies are only inches apart, his head dipping so it looks simply like he’s nuzzling her, but Richie can hear what he says:

“It’s okay, baby girl. Just do what the padre says, and I promise we’ll get out of this without any bumps or scrapes.”

Seth pulls back and smiles, and Kate smiles back, and the crowd _awe_ ’s appropriately. The preacher keeps up his sermon, going through the motions of a Catholic wedding because that’s the religion Seth and Richie and the crowd were raised on even though they don’t practice it appropriately with the way of life they lead. Richie wonders for a vague moment if Kate feels like this is all sacrilegious, but then remembers she’s marrying Seth to save her life, not because she loves him, anyways.

When it comes time for them to exchange vows, Kate’s voice shakes. “I, Kate Fuller, take you, Seth Gecko, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part.”

Seth’s voice is calmer, more resolute as he says, “I, Seth Gecko, take you, Kate Fuller, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part.”

“Please bring forth the rings,” the preacher says then, and for a moment Kate’s eyes bug, and Richie knows that she forgot all about that part.

Luckily he and Seth improvised.

He wheels himself up a little bit, pulling a box from the pocket of his suit. When he opens it, two rings shine inside. One’s a simple gold band for Seth to wear, and the other is a bit more pretty, more antique. It’s a gold band too, but with three small diamonds in the middle, each sparkling bright. The former Seth and Richie got from a pawn shop yesterday like it was an afterthought, but the latter is their mother’s ring, and that’s a big deal, because Seth didn’t even give that one to Vanessa when they got married.

“It was in Vegas,” Seth defended this morning when he pulled the ring out of his dresser and said he intended to use it with Kate. “I didn’t have Mom’s at the time.”

“But you could’ve given it to Vanessa when you got back,” Richie said, trying to make Seth tell the truth, that he was  _saving_ the ring for something special.

“Too simple for her,” Seth answered.

“But not for Kate?” Richie asked.

Seth shook his head. “For Kate, it’s perfect.”

Seth takes the rings now, handing the gold band to Kate. She blinks at him, takes his left hand and slides it onto his ring fingers repeating after the preacher, “With this ring, I thee wed, as a symbol of my faithfulness, so that we both will not be parted from this day on.”

Seth takes Kate’s left hand after, slipping their mom’s ring onto her ring finger. “With this ring, I thee wed, as a symbol of my faithfulness, so that we both will not be parted from this day on.”

The preacher nods, says some more small words before clapping his hands together. “God bless, for these two are now one. Seth, you may now kiss your bride.”

It’s then that Seth looks at Kate, and Kate looks at Seth, and Richie bounces in his seat.

They come together hesitantly, neither breaking away from the other’s gaze. Their lips touch and their eyes close, and it’s like the world stops. For a moment it’s just the two of them, and then Kate throws her arms around Seth’s neck and Seth scoops her up off the ground, kissing her hard. Kate makes a little sound in the back of her throat, and Seth grips her hair with one hand, messing up the perfect pins, holds her up by the other as Kate scrapes her nails at his neck, and they kiss with tongue and teeth until suddenly it’s over, Seth putting Kate back on the ground and the two of them looking at each other, stunned.

“Hell yeah!” Richie says after a moment of silence, throwing his hand up in the air.

It’s then the crowd cheers, whistling and throwing up their own hands, throwing rice and flowers at the couple. Seth and Kate finally look away from each other, staring at their audience in a daze, smiling and waving falsely.

“Ladies and gentleman!” Carlos says, coming to stand in front of the pair. “Please, please!” Everyone quiets for him to talk. “Now that the ceremony has ended and our lovely couple are now Mr. and Mrs. Gecko–” the crowd cheers again– “we will have a short intermission and then you all may move down by the lake, where there is plenty of food and spirits and music and fun to go around!

Everyone hollers again, and Richie turns to see that Seth has taken the distraction to pull Kate away, the two of them wondering off together, their hands intertwined.

“I fucking knew it,” Richie grins.

“Knew what?” Scott asks, turning to look at him. “Where’d Kate go?”

Richie claps Scott on the back, the boy freezing and glaring at him again. “I’ll tell you when you’re older, kid," Richie laughs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me if my Spanish is terrible; I used a translator.
> 
> Also, forgive me if this chapter is terrible or cheesy. I just...oh goodness they're actually married now. Whoa.


	5. In sickness and too many shots of tequila.

 

 

Kate laughs and it’s infectious, the sound high in delight and Seth laughs back, the two of them running around the side of the Mandigal mansion, Kate tripping on her skirts.

Seth stops them when they come up near an alcove, a dip in the side of the house hidden by a gaggle of bird-shaped shrubbery. He pulls Kate into the hiding spot, tucks her back against the wall and shushes her as he hears people walking by, talking animatedly about how beautiful the wedding was.

But they’ve got it all wrong– _Kate_ is the most beautiful thing in this place, not the frilly, expensive, stereotypical decorations.

Snickering, Seth turns to look at her, at the way her cheeks are flushed from running, gown strewn around her in soft white feathers. She looks like an angel, her veil back down over her face, stuck with petals from the aisle and her bouquet. Seth reaches over and slips the piece of fabric up, smiling at her and she beams back.

“Holy shit,” she says. “We’re _married_.”

Seth lets out another bark of laughter, dusts some sparkles off her cheek and lets his fingers linger there longer than they should until Kate grows warm with blush under his hand. “You were flawless, Katie,” he says.

Kate giggles, leans back against the wall and puffs her chest out in a deep breath– Seth lets his eyes drift down to her cleavage, her pretty little breasts all pushed up in her sweetheart top. He feels a bit lecherous when his dick twitches at the sight, strays his gaze back up to her mouth that he was kissing just minutes ago. Because, _Christ_ , how he lost himself in that kiss. Her lips were so soft and warm, and she tasted like peach lipstick and cream, this little hint of champagne that she might have been drinking with her hired bridesmaids to calm her nerves before the wedding.

It’s unreal how easy it was to kiss her. How easy it was to block out everyone else except for the two of them, her hands on his neck, his hands in her hair and on the curve of her backside. She felt perfect in his arms, small and innocent and daring, this sound coming out of the back of her throat when he deepened the kiss, something between a moan and a whimper, a sound Seth’s going to remember for the rest of his life.

“I thought I did terrible,” Kate says then, snapping Seth to attention. “I couldn’t stop my voice from shaking.”

“That’s alright,” Seth says, because it is. He gets it. He was a nervous wreck in the beginning of this too, thought it would all go south and Carlos would go ahead and kill the both of them right there. It’s not like the crowd hasn’t seen that kind of thing before– they’d be just as entertained with a bloodbath as they would a wedding.

“Where’d you get the rings?” Kate asks, looking down at the one now firmly placed on her ring finger.

“It was my mom’s,” he says, and for the first time in a long while he feels a bit embarrassed, a bit antsy when Kate looks up at him with wide eyes. “Do you, ah, like it?”

“Oh, I _love_ it,” Kate says, her voice sounding breathless. She throws her arms around him then, hugs him tight to her chest and Seth can’t help but inhale, her scent that's just like her taste, all girly and vanilla-y and doused in something dangerous like the draw of liquor. “Thank you,” she whispers against is neck. “I promise to keep it safe until…”

She pulls away from him then, her eyes sad as she looks up at him. He realizes she means until they get divorced. Because that’s a part of the whole deal. Seth blinks and suddenly feels like an idiot, because for a moment he let himself believe that all of this is _real_. He let himself get caught up in the pretty, pretty sight of her, the roar of his blood in his ears when she kissed him back like it meant something.

But it’s all just a game after all, another con on his endless list of ploys. He forgot how easy it is to get wrapped up in the thrill of a gig after all this time. Pushing drugs and robbing from other cartels has become a stale routine. But pretending to be in love? That’s another heist entirely, and both he and Kate have played their parts fucking phenomenally. They could get an Oscar for that performance back there at the altar, and Seth didn’t even need to try.

Which makes him feel like a world class moron.

 “Uh, yeah,” Seth says, taking a step back and clearing his throat, looking down at the ground. “Anyways… What did Carlos say to you, before he gave you away?” Because of course Seth noticed how the bastard whispered something to Kate right before giving her over, how she paled and began to shake even harder than she already had been.

At the mere mention of Carlos’ name Kate pales once more, swallows down what looks like fear. “He told me to remember the deal,” she says. “To act happy, otherwise he’d make sure I’m not…”

“I could fucking kill him for that,” Seth says, seeing a sudden tinge of red.

But then Kate sets a hand on his arm and he mellows, looks up at her and her big, sad green eyes. “ _Please_ ,” she says, and Seth knows he’ll do anything she asks. “No violence. Not today.”

“Okay,” he answers, pulls back from her grasp because he’s got to stop getting so enraptured in her otherwise he’s fucked. “So what do you want now, princess?”

Kate raises a brow at him, smirks. “I’d really love a cigarette.”

For a moment Seth just gapes at her answer, but then she tilts her head in question and he laughs, reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the pack of Red Apples Richie gave him as a something borrowed token.

“That’s just for the bride, stupid,” Seth said when Richie slipped the carton to him before they made their way down the aisle.

“I’m trying to be _nice_ ,” Richie snorted. “Just take them.”

Now Seth’s glad he did, slips one over to Kate and lights it for her with the Zippo he always keeps in his back pocket next to his wallet, just like he always keeps his gun in the back waistband of his pants, even now. Never can be too sure when you’re around Carlos and his associates, and all.

Kate inhales to get the light started, blows the smoke out like a pro as Seth lights himself a cigarette. “Didn’t know you smoked,” he says, filter between his teeth.

“I don’t,” Kate says, keeping her holding hand up with the opposite hand under her adjoining elbow. “I mean, not really. But sometimes when I hang out with Richie, he gives me ‘em…”

Seth frowns, the reminder of Kate and his brother’s little friendship like getting stabbed in the hand with a needle. Sometimes it drives him nuts, the fact that Richie’s so attached to Kate. Seth told his brother to leave her alone from the start, but it’s like Richie just can’t stop meddling. And it’s obvious he’s infatuated with Kate, human contact easy for him with her, and Seth knows that connection’s just going to get worse now that Kate’s moving in with them. He wonders for a moment if something will come of it– if his brother will try to put the moves on his wife.

 _So what if he does?_ Asks a voice in the back of Seth’s head. _It’s not like she’s really **yours** anyways._

Seth chokes on his next inhale, slants hia eyes over to Kate who looks at him curiously. It hits him again that she’s just here because she has to be, that given the choice, she’d rather be halfway across the world than near him right now, he’s sure. Even if that kiss felt real, it wasn’t. Not really. Their relationship isn’t real either– it’s all an act.

He’s a bad man, after all. A liar and a cheat, someone totally not good enough for Kate. She’s too young, too kind for this life of darkness he’s thrown her into. They’ve both got tragedy under their belts, sure, but Kate hasn’t let hers make her bitter the way Seth has. She’s still full of light and hope, but Seth’s made himself resolute to nothingness, to the next heist and drop of blood.

“We should get back,” Seth says after the cigarettes are nothing but ash. “The reception’s gonna start any minute, and Carlos will be pissed if we’re not there.”

“I don’t wanna go back,” Kate answers, biting her lip and looking down at the ground.

"I know,” Seth says. “I promise, it’ll all be over soon.”

And she looks back up at him then, eyes wide and questioning– Seth just turns and motions for her to follow after him, stamping down the disappointment in his chest.

 

* * *

 

 

“Where’d you go?” is the first thing Kate hears as she and Seth near the back of the gardens where the reception is being held– Carlos said it was down by ‘the lake’ but it’s more like a pond, clear and blue with swans and lily pads swimming on its surface.

Kate hates swans, remembers when she was little and tried to feed one before it all but attacked her, her dad pulling her away before the damn thing could do any serious damage.

Frowning, Kate turns to look at her brother, eyes wavering off of Seth’s defeated frame. She wonders what she said to make him so upset all of a sudden– after they said their vows, after they _kissed_ , it was like the both of them were actually _happy_. Relieved that everything had gone so well, and shocked that the kiss they’d shared had been so…powerful. But then all of a sudden Seth wasn’t happy anymore– he was distant as usual, his guard back up.

“We needed a breather,” Kate says to Scott, glancing up at the tents filled with people and music, h’orderves already being served.

“Yeah, well, during your breather Carlos went nuts,” Scott hisses, pulling Kate over to the side. “He wanted you and Seth to make your grand entrance _three minutes ago_. He ticked each passing second off to me, Kate. Holy shit, it was _terrible_.”

Kate sighs, resists the urge to say _fuck_ Carlos and what he wants, instead following Scott right up to the man in question. His back is to them, words coming out low and harsh in Spanish as he argues with someone through a headset. Scott clears his throat and Carlos turns, glaring at Kate before shaking his head.

“You’re late,” he snaps.

“Sorry,” Kate answers.

Carlos rolls his eyes. “Where’s Seth?”

Kate blinks, doesn’t know where he slunk off to when she left him to see Scott, but then she hears Richie say, “Here!” and watches as he rolls up with Seth at his side.

“Fucking idiot Geckos,” Carlos murmurs, rolls his eyes again before directing Kate to stand next to Seth, her bridesmaids making a chorus line before them.

Carlos talks into his headset again, and suddenly trumpets blare, followed by a chorus of flowers being thrown and loud, abrasive Spanish music playing.

Scott gets to go first towards the wedding party’s table, Christina on his arm who’s smiling at him flirtatiously as Scott shifts from foot-to-foot with a nervous gait. And then goes Maria with Carlos, followed by Señora Lopez who scatters glitter and some kind of rice in the path, and then comes Richie with Octavia rolling him along, looking down at the man then turning to waggle her eyebrows at Kate suggestively while glancing down at Richie again and grinning infatuatedly. For her part, Kate tries to stifle a full-out cackle and gives Octavia a thumbs up.

“Let the death march begin,” Seth mutters then, offering his arm to Kate as it’s their turn to walk up to the wedding party’s table for Carlos’ wanted grand entrance.

Kate glances up at him with a frown, her good humor from Octavia’s antics suddenly ruined by all of Seth’s gloom. “Did I say something to make you mad?” she asks before he can pull her forwards.

“Of course not, princess,” he says emotionlessly. “It’s just all an act, remember?”

And the way he says that, it kind of makes Kate’s heart drop into her stomach. It’s not like she thought all of this was _real_ or anything, but she had thought that it was…good. She had thought that maybe pretending to marry Seth wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, that maybe he was opening up to her and at the end of all of this they could be friends, or maybe even something deeper than that.

But apparently she was wrong, because Seth’s his usual callus self once again, striding forwards with her and a tight smile.

 _I guess Sunday morning meant nothing to him,_ Kate thinks sadly. _I guess today meant nothing to him, too._

Seth does pull her chair out for her at the head table though, this big, long rectangle covered in a silk tablecloth and the chairs tied with blue ribbons. There’s flower arrangements and candles all along it, and it’s risen high on a pedestal inside the main tent for all the guests to look at. Kate sits delicately, trying her hardest not to touch Seth, because if he’s going to be a jerk, then she isn’t even going to try and make him not be.

It’s too tiring by this point.

Instead she simply lets herself really look at the crowd for the first time, at the multitude of faces. There’s all sorts of colors in there, all sorts of features and character types. Apparently the drug cartel Carlos runs isn’t just based in Mexico and the United States, but all around the _world_. That thought is kind of scary, but it’s also exciting in a way because Kate’s never seen such a menagerie of people, all different but all the same, laughing and cheering as Carlos stands and clinks his desert fork against one of the champagne glasses already set up for the wedding party at the table.

“ _Buenas noches_ , everyone!” Carlos calls, and the crowd answers with a resounding call of _buenas noches_ right back. “I would like to thank you all for coming here today! As you know, we are here to celebrate the marriage of the nephew of my esteemed colleague and longtime friend, the late Edward Gecko–” everyone crosses themselves at the name and murmurs penance, except for Seth and Richie who share an annoyed look. “It has been many years since I have seen Seth here with someone he loves–” Carlos looks at Seth and gives the most fake smile Kate’s ever seen in her life– “but it seems that he has finally found the girl to spend the rest of his life with!”

The crowd cheers once more, clinking their glasses and calling out _kiss, kiss_ in various languages. Kate feels her cheeks get hot, glances over at Seth shyly but he’s barely looking at her, just acting on instinct and leaning forwards, his hand cupping the back of her head and his face coming closer and–

When their lips meet, it’s just the way it was at the altar. Everything seems to stop at the moment, and Kate hears her heart just kind of…pop. She focuses in on Seth, on the feel of his lips against her, the way he tastes like cigarettes and cinnamon toothpaste, as well as the champagne that he’s been hitting heavy since Carlos began his lame speech.

It’s all over in a second though, Seth pulling away and blinking at Kate as she blinks back at him, righting up in her seat as the crowd blares with applause.

“Yes, yes, they make quite the beautiful couple, do they not?” Carlos laughs, drawing the patrons’ attention back to him, the way he apparently likes it. “I just recently met young Katelyn, but when Seth showed up at my door with her at his side, I just _knew_ that it was a match made by God himself.” Everyone crosses again, and Kate’s beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable, because while she was a sect of Christianity when she went to church, she definitely wasn’t Catholic, and she’s definitely not used to all this superstition. “Naturally I had to offer to host the wedding here, as who am I to condemn young love?”

“You are a saint, _bwana_ Mandigal!” calls a very large, enthusiastic man as he stands up in the crowd to give his praise.

“Thank you, Faraji,” Carlos chuckles, bowing softly to the man who bows back before sitting down. “I am just so happy to see that Seth has found someone to share his life with. Who knows, maybe the youngest Gecko will be joining him in the land of holy matrimony soon!” Carlos waves his hand out to Richie then, who, this whole time, has been batting Octavia’s hands away from him. At the moment though she’s got them draped on his arm, doting, and the whole crowd laughs as Octavia beams at being caught, Richie slinking down father in his wheel chair and sulking, clearly uncomfortable.

Carlos lets everyone quiet down then before finishing up, raising his glass as he says, “To Seth and Kate Gecko, long may they live!” He tips his glass directly at Kate then, grins dangerously as he takes a long, violent drink from it.

Everyone else drinks too, and Kate follows suit because she knows she has to, hands shaking as she raises her flute of champagne to her lips and takes a deep drink. It’s stronger than the few sips her bridesmaids made her try while bathing her earlier, crisp and sweet but burning Kate’s throat on the way down, making her sputter as she places her glass back on the table, the rest of the crowd too busy toasting and drinking some more to notice her fluke.

“Now,” says Carlos. “We’re to hear the speech from the best man, Richard Gecko!”

Richie sits up a little in his wheelchair then, finishes off the rest of his glass of liquor before clearing his throat and looking out at the crowd. Kate had no idea the poor guy would have to make a speech, and wonders what he’s possibly going to say? That this is all some hoax– that Seth doesn’t even really _like_ her and is only marrying her because he’s desperate to stay in the States? That Kate is nothing more than their hired green card whore, under the threat of death from a deadly drug dealer and that’s the only reason she’s up here in her pretty princess dress, a ring she doesn’t deserve on her finger.

Before beginning, Richie clears his throat again, looks uncomfortable as all hell because he doesn't like people, let alone people who are all looking at him expectantly. He glances over at Kate and she realizes she needs to encourage him, puts aside her anger towards him from the past couple of days, her general fear, and smiles softly. Richie smiles back, turns to the crowd and is probably thankful he has to be sitting because his hands are shaking and he might fall off the stage if he tried to stand.

“When Seth and Kate met…” he starts, and Kate closes her eyes, cringing, expecting something stupid and cheesy and unbelievable to come out of him. “When they met, it was like…like watching the night turn into dawn.”

Kate’s eyes pop open, shock registering in her system as she turns to look at Richie fully. Because even though the line _is_  cheesy, it somehow hits home, and Kate balks as she notices there’s not an ounce of deceptiveness in Richie's expression as he says the words.

“I’ve never seen Seth look at someone like that– the first thing I said to him was that he should marry her,” Richie laughs, and everyone else laughs with him, which Kate is glad for because it encourages Richie to continue. She knows he's good with words, and that this is going to go fine since he's found the perfect ones. “Low and behold, here we are. And I don’t think he could have made a better choice. Kate’s a special girl, and she _belongs_ in our family.” Richie raises his glass then, Octavia having filled it back up during his speech. “To my brother and Kate, and whatever comes next for them.”

“Here, here!” everyone calls, and they drink again.

Kate drinks too, and this time the liquor goes down easier, making her chest warm. She finally dares a glance at Seth, finds that he’s looking at her right back. And there’s something in his gaze, something desperate, but Kate can’t put the words on it, and before she has a chance to ask what he’s thinking, music starts and Carlos is calling for the food to be served.

The party collapses into idle chatter and chewing after that, dinner consisting of a five-star meal full of veal and Spanish side dishes, everything cooked to perfection. Kate finishes off her glass of champagne as she eats, has another while everyone finishes up. It makes her head feel bubbly, makes her nerves fizzle down, so she starts on a third glass about the time Carlos calls for the first dance.

 _Oh_ , Kate thinks, because she forgot this was part of weddings, and she really _doesn’t_ know how to dance. Not formally, anyways. She and her mama used to do silly routines in the garage when Kate was little, but that was always for fun and there was never any merit to it. It definitely wasn’t anything like waltzing, what first dances at weddings are always expected to be.

“Shall we, princess?” Seth asks then, holding his hand out to her as he stands from the table.

Kate looks up at him and is relieved to see he isn’t as irritable as earlier, his eyes warm as she takes his hand and he helps her stand, the world whirling slightly around her. She and Seth walk onto the big dance floor set up in the middle of the main tent, and Kate could almost laugh at the song that comes on for them to dance to.

“Lionel Ritchie, are you fucking _kidding_ me?” Seth murmurs, trying not to gag.

“And Diana Ross,” Kate giggles, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder like she guesses she’s supposed to do. She holds her other hand out to him expectantly. “It’s a classic, Seth.”

“I take back about agreeing to no violence tonight,” Seth murmurs, putting one hand on Kate’s waist and the other in hers. “I’m gonna fucking _kill_ Carlos, the pretentious _douchebag_.”

Kate laughs again, takes a step back and Seth follows, but he trips on her skirts and curses as Kate steps on his foot in turn, the crowd murmuring jeers and guffaws at their ridiculous behavior. They try again and end up in a similar situation, before finally Seth says, “Fuck it,” and pulls Kate flush against him, lifting her up on his feet so they’re face-to-face.

“Just hold on tight, okay, baby girl?” he says in her ear, and his voice is low, body warm against hers, and Kate knows she isn’t just sweating from the Texan summer sun as it starts to set on the horizon, lights strung about the tent snapping on as she and Seth start swaying together, the music cheesy and silly but Kate doesn’t really care.

She closes her eyes and pretends for a second that all of this is _real_ , that she’s dancing at her wedding with a person she’s married because she loves him, because she’s finally not alone anymore. Because sure, she has Scott, but she can’t talk to him about her burdens. It would weigh him down, and Kate refuses to do that. But if she has someone she loves, someone who’s supposed to be her _partner_ , she knows it would make everything easier.

She’d finally have someone to take care of who would take care of her back.

But the song ends in no time at all, and suddenly Seth’s being pulled away, Carlos leering at Kate and stepping into Seth’s place. Kate looks helplessly over Carlos' shoulder, finding Seth’s eyes, the flex of his hands into fists at his side. And she knows he’s going to do something stupid, takes a step forwards– but Richie saves the day, coming up to Seth’s side and tugging on his sleeve, pulling him away.

“You look very beautiful tonight, Kate,” Carlos says, drawing her attention away from the brothers and up to his cold gaze.

“Thank you,” she says, taking his offered hand and putting the other on his shoulder the way she should have done with Seth, Carlos putting his hand on her waist and beginning to move them around the floor elegantly, Kate having to do none of the work. “This dress–” Kate looks down and back up. “It’s wonderful, Carlos. I can’t tell you enough of my gratitude.” And the words stick like sand to her tongue, but she knows she has to say them anyways.

“It is not problem,” Carlos says, taking her hand and spinning Kate around in a perfect circle, her head going with the gesture from the alcohol still in her system before Carlos rights her again, holding her close so he can lean down and whisper, “As long as you keep me a happy man, Kate, I will keep you a happy woman.”

“What do you want me to do?” Kate asks, feeling like a puppet on a string, working helplessly under his orders.

“Exactly what you promised,” Carlos says, and his S’s taper off into hisses, making Kate shiver in fear. “I am already in the process of having your papers drawn up to send into the I.N.A.. Richie did a fine job on the marriage license, so that is all settled. I expect you will be moved into the Gecko household by the end of the week?”

“Scott and I are moving in Friday,” Kate says, trying her hardest to be brave and not cry.

“ _Muy buena_ ,” Carlos says, smile curving over the shell of Kate’s ear and for a minute she feels like he has fangs poking out of it, her entire body lighting with adrenaline. “Just be a good girl, Kate, and serve your purpose.”

He lets her go then, Kate stumbling back and away from the man in fear, bumping into another dancing couple. She apologizes and they laugh it off, shoo her away to go find her husband. And Kate does exactly that, practically running over to where Richie and Seth are standing at one of the tables outside the tent, both of them taking a shot of some kind of amber alcohol.

“Please don’t ever leave me alone with him again,” Kate says, and the brothers look up at her with a mixture of rage and pity.

“If we can help it,” Richie says.

“Here,” Seth follows it up with, pouring another shot and handing it over Kate’s way. “You could use the help relaxing, sweetheart.”

“Where’s Scott?” Kate asks, sitting down next to Richie and simply holding the shot a minute, throat still too closed up with terror to take it.

“Dancing with Christina,” Richie smirks, pointing out onto the dance floor where Kate’s sub-in bridesmaid is dancing circles around Scott, his eyes wide and mouth open as he stares at her butt as she moves.

Kate laughs, nerves settling enough that she’s able to take the shot. It is tastes way worse than the champagne, and it’s so strong she gags, Richie quick to toss her a handful of mints from a bowl on the table so she can get the taste of the liquor out of her mouth and not puke.

“What the hell is _that_?” Kate sputters.

“Tequila,” Seth smirks. “Straight from Me-he-co.”

“It’s awful,” Kate says, wrinkling her nose.

“Not when you want to get plastered,” Richie says, pouring her another shot. Kate frowns at him, looks back and forth between the brothers who nod at her expectantly. “It is a party, after all,” Richie says.

Kate sighs, rolls her eyes and takes the shot; it doesn’t taste as bad this time, the burn less significant. Her chest fills up with warmth, and after the third shot the brothers give her, that warmth spreads to her head and makes things fuzzy.

By the time the cake-cutting ceremony rolls around Kate’s pretty drunk, giggling as Seth pulls her over to the table, tripping on her skirts. The cake is a tall, intimidating thing covered in white fondant with the wedding’s flower scheme mixed into its crevices. Seth holds Kate’s hand steady as she cuts into it with the knife, is happy to see that the cake is lemon, which is her _favorite_.

Seth feeds it to her gingerly, and Kate hums with appreciation. But then– because she’s kind of drunk and it sounds funny– when she goes to feed Seth, she acts like she’s going to be nice about it before shoving the piece of cake against his cheek. Everyone cheers in mirth and Kate howls with laughter, only to have it covered up by Seth shoving a chunk of cake against the side of her cheek.

She blinks, looks over at him and sees he’s smirking as he slops frosting off his fingertips, the same pattern that matches the mess on the side of his face. Kate grins back, and without thinking about it hops up on her toes to kiss him, Seth’s arms coming around her in surprise as she plants her mouth firmly on his, still smiling, giggly and light-headed and actually having _fun_.

“No, no, no, _no_!” Maria says then, coming over to break the pair apart. “You have ruined her makeup, you _burro_!” she says, jabbing a finger accusingly at Seth. “And you almost got frosting on her dress! Now I must fix it!”

She pulls Kate away then, and Kate waves at Seth who stands there looking like he’s just had the fear of God struck in him by a woman who’s only five-two and can hardly weigh more than ninety pounds.

Maria drags Kate out behind the tent and fixes her make-up like she said, redoes Kate’s hair too because it’s come out with all the movement she’s been doing. The entire time Kate keeps giggling, annoying Maria because she’s messing up the woman’s work, making it difficult to put Kate’s lipstick on.

“You are plastered, _chica_ ,” Maria sighs, dusting a stray speck of cake off the side of Kate’s neck.

“Mh _mmm_ ,” Kate hums, closing her eyes and swaying to the music coming from in the tent. “It’s _wonderful_.”

“ _El cielo me ayude_ ,” Maria sighs, looking towards the sky. “Just don’t turn into a drunk because you’re not in a real marriage.”

“I wish it was real,” Kate coos, kicking off her pretty heeled shoes that have been hurting her feet all night– Maria’s too exhausted to stop her. “I actually thought that Seth _liked_ me, but now I know he doesn’t.”

“What makes you say that?” Maria asks, pausing in putting on Kate’s blush, hand stagnant.

“He got all mad after the ceremony,” Kate says. “I thought that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad bein’ married to him if he liked me, but now I gotta live with him and _hates_ me and it’s gonna _suck_.”

“Oh, _cariño_ ,” Maria smiles softly. “He doesn’t hate you.”

“He doesn’t?” Kate hiccups.

Maria shakes her head. “If you ask me, that man is _loco_ about you. But he won’t let himself be because he’s never had anything good in his life, and wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

“What about his first wife?” Kate asks, irrational jealousy bubbling up in her. “I bet she was _so much_ more prettier than me.”

“She _was_ more grown up,” Maria says, and Kate knows that means, yes, Vanessa was prettier than her. “But she and Seth, they were like a flame. They burned out. Obviously a part of him will always love her, but that doesn’t mean they’re right together.”

“That’s sad,” Kate says, feels the heat in her head and body shift behind her eyes and tries to blink away sudden tears. “Oh, Maria, I’m _sorry_! Now I’m going to ruin my make-up _again_!”

Maria exhales loudly, pressing her face into her hands. “It’s a lost cause by this point anyways.”

And so she takes Kate back to the tent, towing her over to Richie since they suddenly can’t find Seth. “Here,” Maria says, settling a stumbling Kate at Richie’s side. “Get her some water, _now_.”

“Will do,” Richie says, reaching out to grab Kate’s waist before she falls over as Maria walks away, muttering something about finding Christina and making her leave Scott alone before the poor boy comes in his pants with all the sexual taunting she’s giving him.

“Poor Sca- _ah_ -t- _t_ ,” Kate says, tipping into Richie’s side. “I don’t think he’s ever even kissed anyone!”

“Have _you_ ever even kissed anyone?” Richie asks, a question that takes her off-guard. “Before Seth, I mean.”

“ _Yes_ ,” Kate snorts. “I had a boyfriend in high school.”

“Really?” Richie asks. “What was his name?”

“Kyle,” Kate says. “He was nice, but I dumped him after my mama died.”

“How come?” Richie asks.

“Because he didn’t wanna have sex,” Kate says, concentrates on a cowlick in Richie’s usually perfect hair and licks her thumb, smoothing it down.

“Oh,” Richie answers her after she’s finished, looking up at her in amusement. “You’re drunk, Kate.”

“Yep,” Kate answers, suddenly feels like the world’s pushing her into its crust and plops down into Richie’s lap unexpectedly. He grunts, her knees hitting his bad leg, but holds his hands out to brace her anyways. “Sorry,” she blushes, looks up to see him staring at her with wide eyes, gaze intense. “Why do you always look at me like that?” she asks.

"Like what?” Richie answers.

“Like you’re staring into my soul,” Kate says simply, still holding his gaze. “It’s kind of creepy.” She takes his glasses off then so he can’t focus on her anymore, shoves them onto her own face. “Holy shit, are you _blind_?”

“Pretty much,” Richie says. “My prescription is one of the highest they can give.”

“Why don’t you get eye surgery?” Kate asks.

“I like my glasses,” Richie answers.

“Hmm,” Kate says, takes the glasses off and studies them before putting them back on Richie’s face. “Me too.”

She smiles and Richie’s hands tighten where they’re holding her waist, his body arched up into hers and Kate can feel something heavy and warm against her butt, opens her mouth to ask Richie if he’s got a gun in his pocket since she wouldn’t put it past him when suddenly a wide, long shadow steps up in front of them.

Kate looks up, sees the intimidating frame of a man who’s even taller than Richie, she’d bet. He’s got dark skin and long, black hair. His eyes are like ice, and there’s a scar the runs over one of them, all the way from his forehead to his bottom lip.

Richie straightens up, holding Kate against himself protectively. “Razor Charlie,” he says.

“Richie,” Razor Charlie nods in acknowledgement. “I thought I would come to offer my congratulations to the bride.”

“Oh, that’s kind of you,” Kate smiles, stands up slowly so she doesn’t fall over. “Thank you, Mr. Razor.”

“Not a problem,” the man says, tilts his head as he looks at her curiosly. “I don’t understand why Carlos sees you as such a threat, _chiquita_. You seem harmless to me– and I’d hate to slash that throat of yours. It’s too delicate for such a mess.”

Kate blinks, not drunk enough to not understand what the man’s saying. She takes a step back as Richie rolls forwards, grasping at her waist to keep her steady. “Thanks, Razor,” Richie says coldly. “Kate and I have to go find her husband now, right, Kate?”

“Um…” Kate says, still looking at Razor Charlie and the way he’s measuring her up, gaze impassive. “Yeah…”

And Richie tugs Kate away, outside of the tent and over to a small gathering of people who are playing croquet, stumbling and drunk and hitting each other with the mallets when it serves them. Richie keeps on the outskirts of the group, pulls Kate over a chair and has her sit, handing her a bottle of water he grabbed out of a cooler before they left the tent. Kate takes it from him and drinks, putting her head between her knees afterwards, dress nearly smothering her.

“I don’t feel very good, all of a sudden,” she says.

“You gonna puke?” Richie asks.

Kate groans. “I hope not.”

They sit in silence for a few moments before they hear Kate’s name, Maria walking over with Scott in tow and dropping him at Richie’s side before meeting Kate's gaze. “I’m going to take Christina to bed,” Maria frowns. “She’s had a bit too much, too, and so I brought you her dancing partner.” Maria looks over at Richie after a moment, smirking. “I’m also taking Octavia inside.”

 “Thank God,” Richie says. “I’ve been trying to get away from her all night.”

 Maria’s smirk grows. “She’ll be back,” the woman says, before wishing Kate well and flouncing off, Scott staring after her, astounded.

“So you finally got your first bump and grind, hey, kid,” Richie says, clapping Scott on the back.

For once Scott isn’t glaring when he looks back at the youngest Gecko; instead his eyes are still wide, gait a little wobbly. “Yeah…” he says, and Kate laughs, the motion making her head hurt.

“I want to go to bed, too,” Kate says after a moment. “I’m tired.”

“We have to find Seth first,” Richie says.

“Speak of the devil,” comes a familiar voice off to his right, Seth striding up. He’s taken off his jacket by now, lost it somewhere in the crowd. His shirt is still crisp white though, tie bright blue– Kate thinks he looks really nice.

“Where the _fuck_ did you go?” Richie asks, worry and anger in his voice.

“Carlos wanted to talk,” Seth says.

“About what?” Richie asks.

“The big deal,” Seth answers.

The brothers lapse into silence after that, sharing a significant look. Kate follows their silent conversation, and even though she’s still intoxicated, she can tell they’re apprehensive about something. She vaguely remembers mention of a ‘big deal’ being the reason why Seth can’t be deported, that he has to be a part of it and that’s why he needed to marry Kate– so he could stay in the States and not fuck the deal up.

Kate really wants to ask what it’s all about, but it’s at that point that her head starts pounding again and she groans, doubling over in her chair.

“Whoa,” Richie says, reaching out to steady her before looking back at Seth. “I think we let her have too much.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Seth says, rolling his eyes. He takes a step forwards, arms going around Kate’s back and under her legs as he picks her up bridal style. “Come on, princess,” he says. “Time for bed.”

“But what about the party?” Kate asks. “Won’t Carlos be mad we left?”

“We’ve done our part,” Seth assures. “Everyone else is drunker than you and won’t know we’re gone.”

“Okay,” Kate yawns, settling into his chest. “Can I sleep on the way back to the house?”

“Absolutely,” Seth says. “Come on, Scott, Richie. Time to go home.”

 

* * *

 

 

The drive back isn’t long.

When they get home both Kate and Scott are asleep, and both Seth and Richie rouse them gently. Scott wakes up enough to stumble into the house and up to the appointed guest room, Brando going with the boy because they apparently got attached to one another on Scott’s first visit.

Kate’s awake though, leaning heavily into Seth’s side as they walk in the front door, Richie rolling in behind them.

“Can I get some coffee?” Kate asks. "And some migraine medicine?"

 “Sure thing, princess,” Seth answers, steering her into the kitchen. “Do you need a trashcan, too?”

“I will if you say trashcan again,” Kate grimaces. “Gross.”

Seth chuckles, helping her into a chair at the table. Richie takes the place across from her, undoing his tie and pulling out a pack of cigarettes– he always keeps two at a time, so he doesn’t even have to ask for the pack back from Seth. Good thing, too, because all during his little meeting with Carlos, Seth chain-smoked like a motherfucker and the pack is now empty.

But even the booze and nicotine couldn’t calm him down over the news of what the big deal really entitles.

“Do you want anything in the coffee?” Seth asks after the coffee pot is done brewing.

Kate nods. “Two spoons of sugar.”

“You don’t use _milk_?” Richie asks, scrunching up his nose. “Hardcore, Kate. Hardcore.”

Kate sticks her tongue out at him and Seth can’t help but feel his mouth twitch in a smile, for once glad that she and his brother get along so effortlessly. He sets the cup of coffee down in front of Kate as well as two Advil and gets a cup of cofee for himself, glancing at the clock on the stove to see it’s a little past midnight. The ceremony was at four in the afternoon and lasted an hour, and after that he somehow lost track of time in all the cacophony of the reception.

Lost track of time in being with _Kate_.

Because, _fuck_ , he is so screwed. This isn’t real and he knows that, but the way it felt to kiss her during the speeches, to hold her when they danced– how she kissed him so enthusiastically after they cut the cake. Shit, it makes him hard just thinking about it, the press of her skin, the softness of her curves and crisp, fruity smell of her hair.

He drinks his coffee while it’s still too hot to distract himself, ends up burning the shit out of his tongue and grimacing.

“I think I want to go to bed now,” Kate says after she’s finished her cup. “That helped me sober up a little, but I’m still really tired.”

“Need help up?” Richie asks.

“Like you can do it,” Seth snorts, sets his mug on the counter and goes to help Kate from her seat. “Come on, Cinderalla. Let’s get you to bed now that the ball’s over.”

“I feel like I’m the one that got turned into a pumpkin instead of the stagecoach,” Kate murmurs as they descend the stairs, Seth keeping a steady hand on her lower back so she doesn’t fall.

“Well, you still look good,” he says, because she does.

“Thanks,” Kate answers half-heartedly.

Seth nods, gets her into the guest room she stayed in last time and helps her down on the bed. He makes sure she’s settled and gets ready to leave, makes it to the doorway when Kate calls his name softly. Freezing in place, Seth takes a moment before looking back at her, seeing her there with her hair mussed, white dress in ruffles against her skin, looking like the most enticing thing he’s ever seen in his life.

_Shit._

“Can you, um, help me get my dress off?” Kate asks shyly. “I can’t reach the buttons…”

_Double shit._

“Yeah, okay,” Seth says before he thinks better of it, cringes internally before walking over to her.

Kate stands up again, turning her back to him and lifting her hair off her neck. Seth can see why she needs help immediately– the dress is kept closed by at least thirty little buttons on the back, clasps small and clumsy. Seth takes a deep breath as he reaches for the first one, undoes it and feels Kate shiver when his hands brush her skin.

He shakes it off, tells himself to focus as he goes down the row, dress parting and more of Kate being revealed. He gets lost in the curve of her spine, the little freckles on her back. And eventually he’s at the last button, his fingers undoing it, hands lingering on her waist. He’s unconsciously leaned in during the whole process, his face inches away from the back of her neck, mouth parting as he thinks about kissing the side of her throat, making a trail up to her mouth.

He’d like nothing more than to just rip this dress off of her, pretty as she looks in it. He’d like to lay her down on the bed and kiss her breathless, get his mouth on every part of her and make her beg for him to be inside of after. He’d like to fuck her until she’s screaming his name, her composure coming undone, her body shaking under his.

He’d like to hold her until this all makes sense, until he understands all these feelings churning up inside of himself when she looks at him the way no one else ever has, not like he’s a bad person, but like he’s just made bad choices and she has hope he can be better.

Instead he just steps back, Kate holding up the dress and glancing over her shoulder to smile at him softly. “Thank you, Seth.”

“You’re welcome,” he says, clenches his hands into fists and nods resolutely, walking to the door.

“Seth,” Kate says again before he can go.

“Yes, Kate?” he asks, only looking back a faction because he knows if he looks all the way, if he sees her standing there looking broken and beautiful, he’s not going to leave, and he _really_ needs to leave.

From what he can see of her, it looks like Kate wants to say something big, her lower lip tucked up between her teeth. And he waits for her to do it, too much of a coward to do it himself. But then she closes her eyes and shakes her head. “Goodnight, Seth,” she says.

“Goodnight, Mrs. Gecko,” Seth says on instinct, blinks at the words before leaving, closing the door softly behind him. “Shit,” he says as he walks down the hall towards his own, lonely bed. “I am so _fucked_.”

 

 

 

 


	6. I give you my solemn vow to buy the groceries from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter seems like it's just filler or something. I'm trying to get the hang for the Gecko-Fuller domestic dynamic, and so far I've come to the conclusion they're a bunch of big, emotionally stunted idiots.

 

 

* * *

 

Kate and Scott spend their last night in their crap Del Rio apartment getting drunk and listening to Nicki Minaj as loud as their old hunk-of-junk stereo can play her.

The neighbors complain on three separate accounts, and whenever Mr. Randall comes to tell them to keep it down, Kate flips him off, says, “I’m moving out tomorrow, asshole,” and slams the door in his face, promptly.

Scott laughs every time.

Kate’s just glad she woke up this morning to a litany of wedding gifts already being sent to the Gecko house, a multitude of them being expensive booze. “Here,” Richie said before she and Scott left, passing Kate a bottle of Vodka imported all the way from Moscow. “Since you’re obviously not a tequila kind of girl, and a little hair of the dog never hurt.”

And Kate took the bottle in thanks, because after the night she’d had at the wedding and reception, getting drunk again sounded like a good idea. Not to mention her and Scott’s awkward breakfast with the Geckos this morning. There was so much tension Kate could cut it with her butter knife, words unspoken about how this was going to be the in-and-out of it from now on, considering the Fullers are coming to live with them and all.

So everything’s packed for the big move-in come tomorrow, and Kate and Scott are totally snoshed.

“I wonder if I’ll ever get to see Christina again,” Scott says, dreamily staring at a water stain on the ceiling tiles.

“What happened to that kid you liked in your math class? Tony or whatever?” Kate asks, taking another shot and grimacing.

Scott’s silent a moment before letting out a belch and then a laugh. “How did you _know_ I like him?”

“I saw his name with a heart by it in your notebook,” Kate smirks, and when Scott throws a pillow at her she’s glad he’s too drunk to make the target. “You big teen drama queen.”

“Yeah, well, you like Seth,” Scott fires back.

“Do _not_!” Kate says, sitting up, the world spinning.

“Do _too_!” Scott says. “You guys made googly eyes across the table all morning.”

Kate scoffs, settles back down to her nest of blankets on the floor and buries her face in them. She and Seth _did_ look at each other all morning, but they certainly weren’t making googly eyes. More like trying to figure last night out, figure _each other_ out. Their relationship is all tangled now– it’s like one minute everything’s good and easy and the next it’s all smashed together like confetti after you pop it out of a canister. Just a big, old pile of crazy colors that smells like rotten matches.

“Ew,” Kate says aloud when she thinks about that, somehow smelling it on her blankets. “Oh my God, being drunk is _weird_.”

“You were drunk last night,” Scott slurs.

“Not _this_ drunk,” Kate says.

“Oh,” Scott says, waits a moment before asking, “Hey, Kate?”

“Yeah?”

Scott waits again, and then suddenly the beat for Anaconda comes on and he starts singing the lyrics at her, and Kate dissolves into a fit of giggles. She rolls around in her blankets with it, clutching her sides as tears form in her eyes. At some point Scott joins her on the floor, rolling around with her, and they’re both laughing and hugging and _sobbing_. Kate realizes quickly that it’s mainly _just_ sobbing, really, and she holds Scott for dear life.

“I miss mom,” Scott says.

“I miss dad,” Kate answers.

And they stay like that for a while, simply holding each other on the floor, music playing on and on until the both of them get sleepy, and Kate strokes Scott’s hair like she used to when they were little and he’d crawl in bed with her because he was scared of thunderstorms. Scott presses his nose into Kate’s neck, tears burning against her skin.

“Are we gonna be okay, Kate?” he asks.

Kate sighs, pats his head again and looks down at her wedding ring. “Yeah,” she says softly. “We’re gonna be okay.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Afternoon, Chinaski, Bluto,” Richie says as he lets Kate and Scott into the house the next day, both of them clearly hung-over. If it isn’t apparent enough by their disgruntled gate, it definitely is by the way they’re both wearing sunglasses and smell like the Czar of Russia himself.

“Stop talking so _loud_ ,” Scott groans, nearly drops the box he’s holding that has _dishes_ scrawled across the front.

Richie smirks. “Hit the bottle a little too hard there, Bukowski?”

“Richie,” Kate says exasperatedly. “Your puns are lame.”

“Ouch, Kate,” he says, holding a hand mockly to his heart. “That really hurts.”

Kate just grunts at him, shoves a box labeled _books_ through the front door as Seth follows in behind her, carrying a small shelf that Richie guesses the books will be put on. He gives Richie a look that says _knock it off_ and Richie shrugs, having a general good time because _Kate’s moving in with them._

It’s been a long time since Richie’s gotten excited about anything other than a new Criminal Macabre at the comic book shop, so this is a big event for him.

Having Kate under the same roof means that Richie can get closer to her, and that she can get closer to _Seth_. And he feels like it was meant to happen, that it’s been a part of the big, cosmic plan for them all along. _Fate_ , some would say, and Richie’s always been a believer in that. He wouldn’t be able to _see_ Kate if she weren’t special– there’s only been a handful of people he’s really been able to _see_ in his life, including his mom and monster of a father and _Seth_.

He’s just sad he can’t really help with the moving, because he’s stuck in this fucking wheelchair for another two-to-three weeks until he can get a boot and can be crutch-bound. So instead he smokes and sits in the living room, watches them bring in a few meager boxes of things that the Fullers have left from their childhood.

The last item is the largest– a big hunk of a kitchen table that’s stained and beat-up, but Kate insisted upon keeping it. She said it was the last thing they had left from their house that was their parents’ besides a few trivial trinkets and an old, worn out bible her dad used to preach with. Richie watches in idle interest as Seth moves their kitchen table out of the way to set up the teetering “new” one, grumbling all the while because it’s fucking _heavy_ and Richie’s of _no help whatsoever, you asshole._

“It’s uneven,” Richie says, setting his coffee mug on it and watching the side droop.

“Well it stays or I go,” Kate says from where she stands in the kitchen doorway.

“You go, and we’re all dead,” Seth answers, putting their usual napkin dispenser in the middle of the table.

Kate shrugs. “At this point in time, I’m not complaining.”

“Why’d you give her the vodka again?” Seth asks, slanting his eyes at Richie irately.

Richie holds his hands up. “Wedding present.”

“Yeah, from Vladimir Trovinski. May as well have given her absinth, with how strong he brews that stuff,” Seth mutters, pushing the kitchen chairs back into place.

Since Kate and Scott don’t have many things, it’s easy to get it all unloaded and put away from the van. Kate has maybe three boxes and a suitcase, and Scott has less than double of that. They don’t bother unpacking the things that go in their rooms right away though, simply sit on the couch and calm down for a little bit as Richie puts a Tarantino movie on in the background, smiling.

“Stop that,” Kate says eventually.

“Stop what?” Richie asks.

“Smiling,” Kate answers. “It’s making me want to punch you in your pretty, stupid face.”

“You think I’m pretty?” Richie counters with a smirk.

Kate makes a disgusted sound and Scott rolls his eyes from where he’s petting Brando at the other end of the couch. “Shut up, Richard,” Kate says.

“Oh yeah,” Richie grins. “You’re gonna fit right in here.”

 

* * *

 

 

The next day Kate and Scott aren’t quite so hung-over.

Kate wakes up in her new bed in her new room and is confused where she is for a moment. She finally got around to unpacking her things at about ten last night. Her bookshelf is the only new piece of furniture in the room, piled high with teen novel literature. She’s got the quilt her grandma Claire gave her when she was little on the bed, and her alarm clock plugged in on the nightstand. Her clothes are strewn carelessly in the closet, and the few trinkets she has left over from her old life are placed here and there, her toiletries in the bathroom she’s going to be sharing with Scott and Richie.

Apparently Seth has the master bedroom and a bathroom all to himself, and Kate kind of hates him for it, because sharing a bathroom with one boy was gross enough, let alone _two_ now when Richie can get up the stairs and stop using the one downstairs. She groans as she remembers all of this, the awkward dinner they all shared last night, making conversation about the _weather_ , of all things.

Scott comes bouncing in on her bed five minutes later, telling her to get up, but Kate simply rolls over. “Go away,” she says.

"I can’t,” he answers. “We’re going grocery shopping, Kate! Actual _groceries_! No more Hamburger Helper for us!”

Kate perks up at the idea of that, her eyes bleary in the morning light. She manages to stand and not fall over like yesterday morning, takes that as a good sign. “Fine,” she says. “But only because I want chocolate.”

Scott grins, disappears out the door and down the stairs, she’d guess by the clambering footsteps and him calling out Richie’s name a second later. Kate rolls her eyes, looks at herself in the mirror attached to the lone dresser in the room, grimacing. Her hair’s stuck to her face, eyes puffy, sleep tank and shorts all messed up.

“Well, couldn’t expect them to see you fully ready for the day forever,” she says to her reflection, stretches her arms over her head and goes to the bathroom to do her daily morning routine of pee, brush her teeth and shower, nearly screaming when she sits down and barely catches herself because the toilet seat lid is up. “God _damn_ it!” she snarls, rights the seat and pees angrily, if there’s even such a thing.

Afterwards she brushes her teeth and makes a note to get toothpaste at the store, because she doesn’t like the kind Richie keeps stocked. Then she showers, thankful that at least the towels here are nice, instead of the threadbare ones she and Scott used back at the apartment. Only, thing is, Kate realizes all she has to wear is a _towel_ after she’s done showering. She’s so used to being able to walk around in it with just Scott to worry about– which he doesn’t care– that she forgot to bring clothes with her to change into in the bathroom.

Sighing, Kate calculates the steps from the bathroom to her room. She’d say about four yards worth, which is doable. She opens the door and peeks out to make sure no one is around, feeling like she may as well be nude as she steps out into the hall and the cool air of the house hits her on full, making the hair on her skin stand up and her nipples so hard it hurts. She makes another mental note to tell Richie or Seth to turn the A.C. down.

Shaking her head, she tries her best to get down to her bedroom, watching her feet so she doesn’t slip on the wood floor where her hair drips, only to hear a door open at the end of the hall. Kate looks up, eyes like a deer caught in the headlights as she meets Seth’s gaze. And yes, the towel covers her, but only to the top of her thighs, and Seth is a _guy_ , and when he blinks at the sight of her, Kate squeaks and all but dives into her room, slamming the door shut.

 _Living with three men is so **not** okay,_ she thinks as she gets dressed, making sure to cover herself from head-to-toe even though the heat index calls for it being a high of ninety-eight degrees today.

When she finally makes it down to the kitchen, all the boys are waiting, eating various breakfasts of cereal and toast. Brando’s resting under Richie’s propped leg as he reads the morning cartoons, and Seth’s absentmindedly petting the dog with his socked foot as he reads the morning sports. Scott’s sitting on the opposite side of the table playing his PSP and spilling milk onto his shirt every time he takes a bite of Fruit Loops.

“Morning,” Richie is the first to say, looking up at Kate with a smirk that tells her Seth told him about the hallway incident.

Kate grumbles a reply back, goes over to the fridge and pulls out the carton of orange juice in it, taking stock of everything the Geckos do and don’t have. Mainly, they’ve got a lot of beer. There’s also some old butter and lunch meat and cheese, the orange juice and various jars of condiments and pickled vegetables. She opens the freezer and sees it’s bare of anything besides a frozen bag of peas.

“Do you guys live off of anything _besides_ cereal and sandwiches?” she asks.

Seth shrugs but doesn’t stop reading the paper. “We get take-out a lot.”

Kate glares at the back of his head, thinking he’s lucky to be a guy because if she lived off of his diet, she’d be twice her size right now. It’s hard enough that having to survive on Hamburger Helper and Kahuna rejects has made her gain ten pounds in the last year, especially considering the fact she and Scott were close to starving most of the time. Estrogen is very unfair she thinks as she sits at the table, adding just another thing to the list of why it’s going to suck to live in a house full of men until Carlos releases her from the sentence.

 “Carlos called by the way,” Richie says, like he’s reading her mind as always. “Papers are all sent in to the I.N.A..”

 “I didn’t sign any papers,” Kate says, confusion evident.

“Neither did I,” Seth says from behind the veil of the sports section. “Carlos has a good forger.”

“But we were _willing_ to sign,” Kate frowns.

“It’s over and done one way or another,” Seth says.

“It’s the principal of the matter, Seth,” Kate answers, and that’s finally enough to get him to put the paper down.

He looks at her full-on then, glancing over her highly covering attire. “Sweetheart,” he sighs. “You’re going to have to get used to me seeing you in a towel if you’re going to live here. You don’t have to be a nun. Richie and I will keep our hands to ourselves.”

“Speak for yourself,” Richie kids, but all it earns him is Seth lifting his foot up from Brando’s head and kicking Richie in his bad leg. “ _OUCH_!”

“Stop being a fucking squeeze,” Seth says.

“It was a _joke_ ,” Richie insists.

Seth rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”

The group embarks on their big grocery adventure twenty minutes later, all of them piling in the van to go to the nearest supermarket. Kate fiddles with the radio the whole time instead of talking to anyone, still disgruntled by the fact she _is_ going to have to get used to things being different. Her entire life she’s only ever lived with her family, and now she’s going to have to stay in a house with two strange men that have lifestyles completely dissimilar than her own. For a moment she wonders what would happen if either of them ever bring a girl home, blinks as something like jealousy rears up in her chest and shakes the thought off.

Once in the supermarket, Seth grabs them a cart and turns to Kate. “You and Scott get whatever you want. Richie and I are buying.”

“Well, yeah,” Kate says. “The money I’m using is coming from you.”

“No,” Seth says, shaking his head. “This is separate money. _Our_ money.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Kate says, feeling like she’d be using them if she did.

“Kate,” Seth says, and when he looks at her she sees that he’s being open again, being kind. “I know what it’s like to not have food on the table to feed yourself and your brother. So please, for me, let me buy your groceries this time.”

And even though the confession is simple, it’s honest and raw, and Kate ends up nodding her head. “Okay,” she says.

So with Seth’s request in mind, she and Scott go sailing around the supermarket. Scott, of course, wants a bunch of junk food, and Kate goes ahead and lets him get it because it’s been way too long since the Kid’s had a bag of Doritos all to himself. On her side of the spectrum though, Kate gets her coveted bar of chocolate and the ingredients to make actual _meals_. Back home in Bethel, before her parents died, Kate loved baking and cooking. She learned it from her grandma Fuller before the loving old woman passed away when Kate was nine.

Over the last year Kate’s missed making things like pot-roast and casseroles and homemade cookies. It was something simple that she was good at, and always made others smile. She was the one put in charge of every church bake sale because of it, and took her job with pride, because it was for a good cause and everyone got baked goods, and _God_ , Kate’s just _really_ missed baked goods.

By the end of the trip they’ve got a cart full, and the only contributions Richie and Seth have added to that is a case of beer.

“Really?” Kate asks as she watches it roll down the conveyor belt.

Seth shrugs. “You’re obviously gonna feed us now, Julia Child.”

Kate rolls her eyes, watches the cashier ring them up. For a moment she lets her eyes stray to the total when it’s all finished, and then she balks, because _holy shit_ , it’s more than she made in _two weeks_ at her old job. She tries to open her mouth and say that it’s too much, they should put some things back, but Seth simply pulls out his wallet and hands the cashier a debit card, already has the pin entered before Kate can get over how casual he is about spending this much money at the grocery store.

“I’m _so_ sorry,” Kate says as they’re walking out with their cart full of bags. “That was so much money…”

Seth stops walking then, Richie taking a second longer to bring his wheel chair to halt, too. “You think _that’s_ a lot of money?” Richie asks.

“Yes,” Kate says, biting her lip.

“Kate, it’s not,” Seth says.

“But it’s over _three hundred dollars_!” Kate hisses.

“Holy shit,” Scott says, was too busy slurping down a Coke he asked the cashier to keep out of the bag to pay much attention until now. “Whoa.”

“You guys really think that’s a lot of money to spend on _food_ , something you need to _live_?” Richie asks.

Kate swallows, feeling stupid and little as she nods her head.

“Kate was lucky to break a thousand in a month’s period,” Scott says then, speaking the words she can’t. “All that money went to rent and utilities. We could maybe spend twenty-five bucks a week on groceries.”

Clearing her throat nervously, Kate glances up at Seth then, expecting to see pity in his eyes, but what she finds instead is a calm understanding. “It’s okay, Katie,” he says, making her release her lower lip from between her teeth. “If we can pay you a hundred grand to marry me, we can spend three hundred at a grocery store.”

“Okay…” Kate says softly, relenting. “But from now on, I buy the groceries for Scott and me.”

“Whatever you say, princess,” Seth says, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going to keep that promise.

 

* * *

 

 

Kate and Scott’s first week at the Gecko house is… _odd_.

Seth’s having a hard time getting used to sharing a space with two new people. His entire life, he’s only ever really lived with Richie. There was that year he and Vanessa lived together, but that’s all a blur of drinking, sex and plates being thrown at his head. Now it’s like he’s Mr. Fucking Domestic, because every day Kate’s got breakfast, lunch and dinner waiting for them. She and Scott clean around the house because usually Richie and Seth don’t bother to do anything other than the needed tasks, and apparently the Fullers grew up as neat freaks, because even the slightest speck of dust bugs the fuck out of them.

Since Richie and Seth’s job doesn’t entail them going to work every day, Kate doesn’t have a new job yet, and Scott’s off for summer, the house is just bubbling over with people. It’s a big space and all, but when you’ve got two kids running around, a brother in a wheel chair and a huge horse of a dog, that space all gets taken up very quickly.

By the end of it, Seth’s ready to pull his hair out.

The only good thing to all of this is late that first Wednesday night, the first week’s mark of him and Kate’s marriage. He wakes up at two o’clock in the morning and can’t go back to sleep, decides to wander downstairs to get a beer and watch television or something, only to stop short when he sees Kate sitting on the couch.

She’s just wearing a big t-shirt, has her knees tucked up into her chest with the fabric covering them and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. There are various newspapers from throughout the week strewn on the coffee table in front of her, want ads all circled in red. Seth tilts his head from where he stands on the last step, wonders if he should just give her some privacy because god knows she probably wants it after having to live with three men for the last couple of days.

“You can sit down,” Kate says then, shocking him.

He clears his throat and comes off the last step, walks over to her in just a pair of pajama bottoms and nothing more, sitting to her left on the couch. It’s then he notices she’s also got the television on, old horror movie reruns playing in the background. He glances from that to her, at the dark circles under her eyes.

“Have you not been sleeping?” he asks.

Kate shakes her head. “I usually only get four or five hours a night. It’s not uncommon.”

Scratching the stubble on his jaw, Seth thinks of something to say, but only comes up with, “That sucks.”

She nods. “Yep.”

"I used to be like that,” he says after a moment, figures they may as well go tit for tat from now on if they’re ever going to stop acting like strangers in the same home. “After my dad died. I had anxiety something awful and I didn’t sleep.”

“I’m sorry,” Kate says.

Seth shrugs. “No big deal. Now I sleep like a rock.”

“Except right now,” she says.

“I was thirsty,” he answers lamely.

Kate reaches over to her side, pulls out a half-drank bottle of water and hands it to him. Seth takes it from her gingerly, uncaps it and puts the rim to his lips, blinking as he realizes it tastes like vanilla Chapstick. And there are two problems with that: one, it makes the water taste weird; two, it makes him hard because he’s suddenly thinking about when he kissed her, the bare strip of skin he can see on her thigh where the t-shirt doesn’t cover, the smell of her hair and what he thinks it would feel like to tug on it while he fucks her.

“Thanks,” Seth says dryly, handing the water bottle back and shifting so she doesn’t see his sudden excitement through his pajama bottoms.

“Mhm,” Kate answers, sets the water bottle back at her side and glances towards the coffee table.

“Find any good prospects?” Seth asks, wanting to get some kind of conversation flowing to block his impure thoughts about the preacher’s daughter– _Christ_ , it’s like he’s a fucking schoolboy reading Uncle Eddie’s old Playboys again.

“A few,” Kate says. “Not anything that’ll pay good, but what can you hope for without a college education?”

“You could be a drug mule,” Seth says, and he means it as a joke but then Kate’s eyes snap over to him, wide and shocked. “I’m kidding, Kate.”

“How did you get into all of it?” Kate asks, shifting so that she’s facing him, her knees peeking out from under the t-shirt, legs spreading for a split second to accommodate the movement and Seth makes himself keep his eyes on her face and not let them wander down to see if she’s wearing underwear or not.

“We’ve kind of always been in it,” Seth shrugs.

“What do you mean?” Kate asks.

“My dad worked for Carlos,” Seth says. “He pissed him off when Richie and I were kids though, and he kind of got…fired. Carlos couldn’t kill him because my Uncle Eddie was practically Carlos’ partner by that point and it would’ve been offensive to kill Eddie’s brother. Doesn’t matter though, I guess– the old man died in a fire a year later. And then Richie and I got thrown into the foster system. It took Eddie awhile to get us out, but once he did, it was straight into the business.”

“How old were you?” Kate asks, and she seems honestly interested– not interested in the way most people are, like they think it’s exciting to hear about all the bad shit Seth’s done, but interested because she honestly just wants to _know_.

“I was about fifteen when Eddie adopted us, and Richie was fourteen. We didn’t do our first official job until I was seventeen, though,” Seth says.

“What happened?” Kate asks.

“It was simple, all things considered,” Seth answers. “All we had to do was go down to Mexico, load a trunk with Heroine, and smuggle it over the border.”

“Weren’t you afraid you were going to get caught?” Kate asks.

“Terrified,” Seth laughs. “Richie was so nervous that he kept screaming the cops were following us every five minutes, even though it was always just another car on the highway.”

“Richie, freaking out?” Kate grins. “I don’t believe it.”

“He likes to act like he’s calm,” Seth says. “But underneath, Richie’s kind of a…twitchy kid.”

“I know about his schizophrenia,” Kate says.

“You do?” Seth asks, shocked, because usually Richie never _tells_ anyone about that.

“He told me when we went to lunch that first day,” Kate says. “He said it was okay if I judged him for it, but I don’t.”

“You’re one of the first,” Seth sighs.

Kate smiles sadly. “Everyone has problems, Seth. Richie’s are more serious, sure, but they don’t make him a bad person.”

“What about what we do for a living?” Seth asks, waiting for her say that, yeah, that _does_ make them bad people.

Kate does exactly the opposite and shakes her head. “My mama once told me that people do the things they do because they don’t know any other way to survive– it sounds like you and Richie haven’t gotten the chance to do good things from the start.”

“Kate…” he says, knows there’s so many things he could tell her to change her mind about that, but he actually _can’t_ tell her. Because if he did tell her the truth, the fact that he had to kill someone for her to be here right now, she’d never forgive him.

And Seth doesn’t know if he can stand the thought of her never forgiving him.

“Can I ask you something else?” Kate questions then, staving his regrets off.

“Uh, sure, what is it?” Seth asks.

“What’s this ‘ _big deal_ ’ Carlos is so worried about?” Kate asks.

That brings Seth up short, and he wonders if he should really tell her about it, considering it’s almost just as bad as him killing people for a living. He settles on telling her part of it, because she doesn’t deserve to be lied to, not all the way. He already lied to her in the beginning of all of this and now she’s stuck here, with him, married to a criminal and a prisoner in her own life.

“It’s a drug heist, obviously,” Seth says, and Kate nods for him to continue. “It’s going to happen about six months from now. Carlos is making a trade with these big drug dealers from Mexico that call themselves the Lords, or whatever. It’s worth thirty-million dollars.”

“That’s a lot of money,” Kate says, glancing away from him to the ads on the table again.

“For one deal, yeah, it is,” Seth says.

“Why do you and Richie have to help with it specifically?” Kate asks.

“I don’t really know,” Seth says honestly. “Apparently the Lords asked for us to be in on it.”

“That’s alarming,” Kate mumbles.

“It’s probably just because we’re Uncle Eddie’s prodigies,” Seth says, brushing it all off like he’s been trying to do since they found out about the big deal three months ago. “The biggest problem with it all is that the deal’s happening _in_ Mexico.”

“Why’s that bad?” Kate asks.

“We’re in a territory war with another cartel there,” Seth says, miffed when Kate doesn’t look surprised by the answer. “If they get wind of this job, they’re going to try and intercept it.”

“And that’s very bad,” Kate guesses.

“ _Very_ ,” Seth says. “Do you know how Richie broke his leg?”

“Not really,” Kate says. “He told me it happened on a job, but that was about it.”

“It did happen on a job,” Seth says seriously. “But it wasn’t _supposed_ to. We were doing a routine trip to Mexico to import some coke, but apparently a snitch told the other cartel what was going down. They ambushed Richie and me, and while we were trying to run, Richie fell and broke his leg.”

"How’d you get out of there?” Kate asks, eyes wide.

Seth shrugs. “I’m not really sure. One minute Richie and I were laying there getting ready to have a shoot-out, and the next the guys chasing us were suddenly just… _gone_. They went in the complete opposite direction, and I managed to haul Richie to a hospital and get him home after he was patched up.”

“I wonder what threw them off your trail,” Kate says.

“Richie thinks it was because we closed our eyes while we were waiting for them to find us.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Seth smiles morosely. “He said something about ‘ _eyes find eyes_ ’ or whatever. Something to do with energy. Who knows.”

Kate grins back at his answer, settles a bit more smugly into the couch. “I didn’t expect to be so fond of the two of you,” she says then, making Seth blink in astonishment.

“ _Fond_?” he asks, confused.

Kate nods. “I figured the deal would just be a deal, but, I don’t know… I mean now we’re married and Scott and I have to live with the two of you, and I really shouldn’t be so comfortable here, but it’s not too bad.”

“Oh,” Seth says dumbly, her admission still having him in a stupor. “Well…glad you’re happy, princess.”

Kate looks at him then, tries to read his expression. “Glad you mean that,” she says.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Seth asks.

Kate shrugs. “I always think you don’t like me very much.”

Again, Seth blinks, but then he wonders why he should be surprised by her saying that. Every chance he gets, he tries to act like he doesn’t care about Kate. His entire life, Seth’s grown up caging his emotions. The only person he’s ever opened up to besides Richie is Vanessa, and look how that turned out– she left him the first chance she got. Said something about how Seth only cares about Richie and himself, and that just wasn’t true. Seth _loved_ Vanessa, loved the fuck out of her, really. But he’s just never known how to express that.

Growing up, he learned that emotion is weakness. His father used to hit him and Richie for crying, tell them to suck it up, be a man. Being on the job means Seth has to be logical, not emotional. He has to think instead of feel. Showing what he feels means trouble, means abandonment. So after their dad died, Seth closed that part of himself off, and he still doesn’t know how to bring it out again.

Besides, why should Kate care if he likes her? This is just a job, after all. Even though Seth _does_ like her, she’s going to leave the first chance she gets. If he lets himself get close to her, lets himself feel all the emotions she brings out in him, it’s going to break him when she leaves.

Seth’s never been good at not needing people. He’s always had Richie, and he doesn’t know what he would do without his brother. But then he had Vanessa too, and he needed her, because she did what Richie can no longer do for him. And then she left, and Seth was fuck out of luck with what to do with his heart after that.

He refuses to let that happen with Kate. He refuses to get invested with her when she’s not invested with him. It’s like setting himself up for disappointment, something he should be used to by now, but he’s only fucking human and he hates feeling like a burden. Hates being second best. If Kate wants him to like her, he wants her to want him to like her because she’s picked him as her first option, not some criminal she just has to settle with because she’s been forced to do so.

“I don’t know,” Kate says then, making him look at her again. “It’s like it’s always one step forwards and two steps back with us.”

“How do you figure?” Seth asks, words guarded.

“Like at the wedding,” Kate says, stuffing her hair behind her ear nervously. “I thought for sure after the ceremony that you and I were okay, but then all of a sudden you got distant again… I don’t know what I did.”

When she says that, something inside of Seth softens– she looks like a scared and hurt little girl and a natural instinct inside of him wants to protect her, wants to reassure her none of this is her fault, because it isn’t. “You didn’t do anything, Kate.”

“Then what was it?” Kate asks, swallows down nerves and bites her lip. “Were you upset that you…that you had to kiss me?”

“ _What_?” Seth asks, jumping up a little in his seat. “No.”

“Then was it because you gave me your mama’s ring?” Kate asks, looking down at the ring in question on her finger. “I can give it back– I mean, only wear it when we have to keep up appearances.”

“Kate,” Seth says, and when she won’t look at him he reaches out to set his hand under her chin, tip her head up so she’ll look at him. “Kate, no. I _wanted_ you to have that ring.”

“Then do you miss your other wife?” Kate asks softly, and Seth jerks his hand away, forgot Kate even knew about that. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay…” Seth says, glancing at the television where Michael Meyers is digging out some girl’s insides with a pitchfork– he feels like that girl, all of a sudden. “It doesn’t have anything to do with Vanessa, either. She’s separate from you and me.”

“But do you miss her?” Kate asks.

“Why are you so invested in it?” Seth snaps, the hurt making him lash out and Kate shrinks away, curling in on herself. Instantly he regrets making her do that, sighs and loosens his muscle, reaches out for her again so he can pull her closer, and, surprisingly Kate comes willingly, Seth wrapping her up in a weird, awkward hug because it’s easier just to touch her than actually say that he’s sorry aloud.

Kate presses her head into his shoulder then, and Seth shudders at the feel of skin on skin. “I’m sorry I pried,” she says.

“It’s okay,” Seth says, stroking her hair. “I just don’t really like talking about my first wife. It wasn’t a great time.”

 “Okay,” Kate says.

And they stay there for about a minute longer, just hugging. Seth’s surprised by how easily Kate lets him touch her. Then again, how long has it been since anyone’s comforted her, he wonders? The girl’s been on her own taking care of her brother alone for a year now, working her ass off just to keep food on the table. Seth remembers that kind of life before Uncle Eddie adopted him and Richie– how their foster parents never bothered to take care of them so Seth did as much as he could to get what Richie needed, including yard work and employing the five finger discount.

Then after Uncle Eddie got killed on a job when Seth was twenty, it was just him and Richie alone in this world once again. They knew how to do the job, knew how to pay mortgages and taxes, but they didn’t know how to take care of one another emotionally. They’d never been given the tools for that. And the only thing Seth ever knew how to do to make Richie feel better was touch him, and for a while that made things between them pretty fucked up, but then Seth met Vanessa and when she left and Seth came back with Richie, things were different.

Now they both just keep it bottled up, and sometimes when Richie has an episode and starts freaking out, Seth will hug him, but it doesn’t go past that, and Seth never knows what to say to make it better.

Just like he doesn’t with Kate, so he just holds her instead, and she holds him back, desperately.

And then she pulls back softly, looking up at him under the veil of her lashes, and her cheeks are flushed pink, and she says his name, and it’s first instinct that Seth leans in, his mouth hovering over hers–

The living room floods with light and Seth breaks away from Kate quickly, jumping up to look over the back of the couch in sudden defense, only to see Richie sitting there. “I wondered who was up,” he says. “Heard the T.V. on and came to investigate.”

“Just us,” Kate says, popping her head over the back of the couch, too, making Richie lift a brow at Seth arrogantly. For her part, Kate’s composure is much calmer than Seth’s– his heart is still beating rapidly in his chest, and he’s _mad_ that Richie came in when he did. “You alright, Richie?”

“Yeah,” Richie grins. “Just know the sound of Michael Meyers when I hear it, and couldn’t resist coming to watch.”

He rolls himself over to the end of the couch then, gets up next to Seth and crowds Seth into Kate as he puts his bad leg on the coffee table. Seth shifts uncomfortably as he feels Kate’s skin against his own, still warm to the touch, still flushed. He glances over and sees her t-shirt has ridden up, exposing the creamy flesh of her thighs, and he sighs.

“So,” Richie says, draping an arm behind Seth’s shoulders. “What’d I miss?”

 

* * *

 

 

Kate’s been living with the brothers for a month when she finally gets a new job.

It’s at a coffee shop downtown, and all things considered, being a barista isn’t too bad. The girl that trains Kate is nice, a college student named Marnie with dark skin and blue hair. She teaches Kate how to make lattes and espressos, how to smile and flip her hair just right so the customers give better tips.

“So you’re married?” Marnie asks Kate the second day on the job, and Kate glances over, startled. “I saw the ring,” Marnie says, nodding at said piece of jewelry in question.

Kate tucks her hand into her chest protectively, nods. “Yeah.”

“You’re pretty young to be married,” Marnie says.

“Yeah,” Kate answers again.

But the last few weeks at the Gecko house have been good. They’ve all settled into a comfortable routine with each other. Breakfast in the morning, respective routines for the day. Kate got Scott enrolled in some art classes at the San Antonio institute and he loves it. Seth takes him there three times a week, doesn’t even consider it a burden. And he still buys all the groceries for them, which is annoying but Kate can't stop him.

Richie finally got his cast off last week and Carlos called to send him and Seth in on a job, saying a cripple looked less conspicuous. Richie frowned at the ableized nickname, but he and Seth headed out the next day anyways. They were gone for four nights straight and Kate started to worry, but on the fifth day they came home fine.

“How’d it go?” Kate asked, busy picking out sizes for her new work outfit because she’d gotten hired the day before, right on the spot after her interview. Apparently working at Kahuna for a year added a good few bonus points to her resume for the café’s owner, Holly’s, consideration.

“Well, I didn’t break my leg again,” Richie beamed, and he came over to scoop Kate up into an unexpected hug, making her squeak. “I missed you,” he said, and it made her body flush.

Over the past month, she and Richie have somehow gotten closer. Both of them are the night owls of the house, watch old horror movies and talk about anything and everything in between. Kate and Seth though, they’re still working on their friendship. Since that one night where they talked about him and Richie’s job and Seth’s ex-wife and Seth hugged her, he’s been distant again.

Kate wishes he wouldn’t be, but she also understands. She’s not really his wife, after all. She’s just here to help him out.

So it was a shock when Richie set her on her feet and Seth came over and hugged her, too. It was long and lingering and warm, and Kate inhaled his scent instinctively, something like nicotine and gunpowder and a musty sort of aftershave.

“How’d you and Scott hold down the fort, princess?” Seth asked when they pulled apart, smiling at her.

 Kate smiled back. “I painted the house,” she says.

She went so crazy worrying about them, if they’d be okay or if that other cartel would be after them, that on the second day Scott said he was driving her nuts and she needed to find a project. So Kate went out and bought blue paint, and now the once dirty white siding of the house is a crisp robin’s egg blue, bright and cheerful. Kate thought it looked good, even though she had to go to her interview the other day with paint still stuck under her fingernails since it’s heavy duty and all, and wouldn’t come out.

“Noticed that,” Seth said.

“Is it okay?” Kate asked.

“Absolutely!” Richie answered her cheerily. “We were meaning to paint the house after we bought it, but just never got around to the job.”

“Do you like it, Seth?” Kate asked, wanting his approval too.

Seth laughed. “Yeah, princess. It’s a’lil girly for me, but, y’know, it’ll probably improve the retail value if we ever sell the place.”

And the way he looked at her, content and accepting, it made Kate’s chest bloom with warmth, something she wasn’t expecting.

“When’d you get married?” Marnie asks, putting together the ingredients for a mocha, foam machine kick-starting as Kate starts making the latest order of an Americano with extra whip.

“About a month ago,” Kate says, glad that her hands aren’t shaking so she doesn’t burn herself.

“Boy or girl?” Marnie asks, and it’s no secret that Marnie herself prefers girls– she told Kate that the first day when her girlfriend, Aja, called and Marnie explained after how they met in their freshman lit class and have been in love every since.

“Boy,” Kate laughs. “This is Texas, after all. The state would only recognize it as a civil union if it were a girl. The jerks.”

Even though Kate grew up religious, she’s always thought that isn’t very fair. The way she sees it, people love who they love. Not to mention she understands because there was this girl named Lilly her junior year in high school that Kate had the _biggest_ crush on– at first she’d thought it was admiration, but then Lilly had touched Kate’s hand once, and Kate had blushed and felt her stomach fill with butterflies, and instantly felt guilty because she was with Kyle but crushing on someone else.

But Lilly moved away the next year and Kate continued dating Kyle, and then her mom died and Kate wasn’t dating Kyle, but Kate just didn’t really want to date anyone at that point anyways.

 _And now I’m **married** ,_ she thinks to herself, astounded, because it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it.

“What’s he like?” Marnie asks as Kate calls out the Americano customer’s name and hands the drink off, smiling when the customer thanks her very politely, so different from Kate’s old job.

“He’s…” Kate searches for the right words to describe Seth, his usual narcissism interrupted in moments of true kindness, when Kate finally thinks she’s getting through to him. “He’s rambunctious,” Kate says eventually, smiling.

“Sounds like your complete opposite,” Marnie laughs.

“You know what they say,” Kate shrugs. “Opposites attract.”

Kate gets off shift a half-an-hour later, says goodbye to Marnie and goes outside where Richie is waiting to pick her up. Now that he doesn’t need the wheelchair anymore, he and Seth traded the van back to Carlos for their old car, which Seth dotes on like it’s his own child. Kate’s surprised he let Richie drive it, especially since Richie’s clumsy at driving with his boot.

“Hey, Kate,” Richie says from where he’s sitting in the driver’s seat, puffing at a cigarette.

“Howdy, stranger,” Kate grins, getting into the passenger’s side.

“You seem happy,” Richie says, hands her a cigarette without Kate even needing to laugh, grinning when he holds out a Zippo for her to light-up.

“I like my job so far,” Kate says after she inhales, breathing out smoke through her nose. At the rate she and Richie smoke when they hang out at night, he’s managed to get her addicted, and pretty soon Kate’s just going to end up caving and buying her own pack so she doesn’t have to bum from him anymore.

“Well I’m glad,” Richie says, pulling away from the curb and heading towards home.

“Where’s Seth?” Kate asks half-way through the drive.

Richie smirks. “He’s at home. He was taking a nap and I decided to leave him to it and come get you myself.”

“Explains why he let you drive the car,” Kate laughs.

Richie just keeps smirking.

They get home quickly, Kate’s new job not too far away. Scott’s out at the park with some kids he met in his art class, took Brando with him so when Kate goes inside, Richie bouncing in on his crutches behind her, she expects to find Seth still sleeping on the couch because he really _does_ sleep like a rock.

Instead she hears him yelling from the kitchen, both her and Richie going to investigate, just in time to watch Seth slam his phone shut, muttering under his breath.

“What is it?” Kate says, fear making her gut feel heavy, suddenly. They haven’t heard anything from Carlos about their marriage since the wedding day, but she wouldn’t put it past him to have called with another condition. “Is it Carlos?” she asks, suddenly needing to know.

Seth shakes his head, rubs a hand over his face. “It was a government official,” he says. Kate’s eyes widen, and her voice gets stuck in her throat. “Apparently they have a few questions about the papers we sent into the I.N.A.. We’re meeting with a representative named Gonzalez tomorrow.”

 

 

 

 

 


	7. You may now kiss any semblance of calm goodbye.

 

 

Kate holds Seth’s hand tightly in her grip, nothing but bone-knuckle white anxiety.

They’re sitting in the reception area of the courthouse, the one they were supposed to get married in. Only they’re not here for a wedding, but to get _questioned_ about their wedding. Scott and Richie are sitting on either side of them, their little family of four waiting for this infamous Ranger Gonzalez to come ask them about their domestic dynamics. Richie did some research on the Ranger, found out he started working in the questioning division of Texas's Homeland Security unit two years ago after his partner died on the job.

“How’d you get all of this?” Kate asked, looking at the official police files spread out on the coffee table in front of Richie last night.

“Not hard to hack the system, Katie,” Richie answered, cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Kate reached over and snatched it, took a drag before giving it back, Richie smiling as he put the filter back between his teeth, tongue flicking out at the leftover saliva Kate had left on it, making her blush. “Turns out he was on a case for trying to take down a deal Carlos made,” Richie said. “Must not of panned out, considering he works in an office, now.”

He didn’t elaborate any further than that, simply flipped through the rest of Gonzalez’s file, puffing away. Kate watched him critically, wondering how he can take illegal activity so lightly. Because she gets it–- he and Seth have always done bad things to survive. But how that can’t _affect_ them, Kate will never understand. Sometimes she wakes up guilty just for marrying Seth, for lying to everyone.

Because they had to come up with more lies last night. The I.N.A. worker Seth talked to on the phone specified that everyone in the house had to come in for the interview, meaning Richie and Scott have to have the same story as Seth and Kate. They all decided it would be best to stick with the one they tried telling Carlos, that Kate and Seth met a couple of months back and they decided to get hitched–- they’re leaving out the getting married for Seth’s green card part. Instead they’re going to say that Seth and Kate had been engaged for a while before any of that mess ever came into play, considering the marriage license Richie faked was dated as being filed for request three weeks before Seth got his letter about being deported.

“I’m so sorry you have to do all of this shit because I made a mistake,” Kate said to Scott after they’d all gotten the script down pat. She was hanging just outside the door to his room, likes the way he’s made the space his own by hanging posters and his artwork on the wall, his clothes littered on the floor. It makes her happy to know Scott’s as comfortable with living with the Geckos as she is.

“It’s no big deal,” Scott said, paused the video game he was playing (Richie had let him have his old Xbox) and turned to meet Kate’s eye. “We both knew this wasn’t going to be easy after you met with that asshole, Carlos.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t intend on turning you into a liar, too,” Kate said, abandoned her post at the door and came to sit next to him on his bed.

“Kate,” Scott said, reaching over to put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. “I like the Geckos, okay. I _love_ you. If lying to a couple of feds means we get to stay and keep playing house, I’m cool with that. It’s nice here.”

“You really think so?” she asked, smiling at him.

“Yeah,” Scott nodded. “I mean, I thought maybe Seth and Richie were going to be a bunch of douchebags after all the shit they put you through, but they’re nice to us. They don’t seem to care that we’re here. Richie’s pretty giddy about it, even.”

“He is,” Kate laughed, pleased with the way her and Scott moving in has somehow gotten Richie to come out of his shell.

It’s obvious Richie usually has problems talking to people. He has this way of talking _at_ them instead of _to_ them is the biggest faul; he’s often got difficulty with social cues and awareness, and fixates easily on things, too. His obsession with old movies and comic books is bordering on unhealthy, and he’s very stuck in his routines, self-absorbed. And Kate knows the signs, the symptoms, what it all could mean but no one wants to admit to.

Kate’s always been good at talking to Richie because of that. She gets Richie to focus on what she’s saying, explains things to him patiently when he gets them wrong. She’s gentle with him, because she knows the Geckos have never been handled with care before, and it’s seemed to have gotten Richie to open up. It’s easier for him to talk now, easier for him to listen. He’s honest and raw and very intense sometimes, but he seems less fidgety when meeting new people, and Kate’s really excited that he’s getting better about empathizing with other people’s needs instead of just his own.

“So I don’t mind lying,” Scott promised, leaning back on his bed and starting his game up again. “As long as you don’t.”

“We don’t have another choice,” Kate answered, and she hates that everything’s come down to that in her life, but it’s the truth.

So when a secretary calls her name she begins to stand up mechanically, only to be rooted in place by Seth’s hand still intertwined with hers. She looks at him, at the fear in his eyes–- not fear for himself, but fear for _her_ , for their family.

“It’s okay, Seth,” Kate says.

He squeezes her hand tighter, makes it so that they’re both standing and when he hugs her she freezes up, shocked at his sudden intimacy. “Whatever happens,” he whispers, so low not even Richie or Scott can hear him. “Do what you need to for you and Scott to be safe.”

Kate blinks when he lets go of her, smiles and turns her, pats her rear goofily and makes Kate squeak, walk over to the secretary who’s grinning at her brightly from behind her horn-rimmed glasses and sharp almond eyes. “You two are cute,” the secretary says.

“Oh, thank you,” Kate answers, still in a stupor over what Seth said.

She’s led back into a modest office, the secretary closing the door after saying, “Ranger Gonzalez will be with you in a minute.” Kate lets her eyes sweep over the room, curious about how there’s no personal affects here. When she was going through the process of “adopting” Scott after her parents died, the social workers’ offices had always been filled with personal memos. Ranger Gonzalez’s office, however, is bare of any except a photo of a woman holding a pretty toddler on his desk.

Kate focuses in on that, about how the woman looks so happy, holding her baby close. Kate remembers when her mama was like that–- when she’d pick Kate and Scott up from school every day, bring them home and give them cookies as a snack before taking them out in the backyard to run around and play. She’d tuck them in at night and tell them both how much she loved them, how happy they made her.

Then she killed herself, and Kate’s still wondering what she did wrong to make her mama feel like there was no other way out.

“That’s my wife and my daughter.”

Kate startles, looks up and stares at the man now walking into the office. She was so caught up in her own head she didn’t even notice him open the door. But Kate sees right away how the man looks kind, and soft. He’s not too tall, maybe a bit shorter than Seth. His hair is dark and short, skin a soft brown color, features prominent, and he’s dressed much more casually than everyone else here, wearing simple jeans and a dress shirt.

“What are their names?” Kate asks him as he sits behind the desk.

“Margaret and Billy,” he smiles, and she can see in his gaze how much he loves his family, and it instantly makes her want to trust this man, though she knows she can’t. No matter what Seth said, she's not going to betray him; she  _can't_.

“They’re beautiful,” Kate says.

“Thank you,” the Ranger answers, gives her another soft grin before his face turns solemn. “But, we’re getting off track. We’re here to talk about _your_ family, Kate. Not mine.”

“Right,” Kate says, expression going blank.

“I’m Ranger Gonzalez, as I’m sure you already know,” he says. “But you can call me Freddie.”

“Nice to meet you, Freddie,” Kate says.

He laughs, humored. “I’m sure it’s not, considering the circumstances.”

Kate gives him a tight-lipped smile.

“So, you and Mr. Gecko–-” Freddie starts.

“Seth,” she interrupts him.

“Seth…” Freddie says, looks at her studiously before reaching into his desk to take out a file, one stamped with _confidential_ across its front. “You’ve been married for a month now…?” he asks, flipping the file open.

“Yes,” Kate says.

“And you were both aware of his impending deportation?”

Kate nods. “We’d already filed to be married before we got it.”

“About that,” Freddie says, flips to a page and pulls out a copy of the marriage license Richie made, the back facing Kate and she shifts, has never actually seen the damn thing and is mad a total stranger gets to look at it before her. She's also still mad she never got to sign the actual I.N.A. papers, Carlos doing everything himself just to be a prick. “This was signed by Judge Ramirez. He’s known to be apt to bribery.”

“Really?” Kate asks, sweat beginning to prick the edge of her hairline.

Freddie nods his head. “Just thought you’d like to know.”

“Well,” Kate says, setting her nerves aside and trying to appear cool, calm and collected. “We didn’t bribe him. There was no need to. Seth and I wanted to get married, we had all the right things. The judge signed the license.”

Freddie nods, but he looks smug about her answer for some reason, and it makes Kate feel annoyed, like he thinks he's talking to a kid though she's anything but. “How long have you known Seth?” he asks, changing his tactic.

“About six months now,” Kate lies, script coming easy after how long they went over it last night.

“How did you two meet?”

“I was working at the Kahuna Burger in Del Rio,” Kate says, and this part isn’t a lie, so it's natural to say. “He and his brother, Richie, came in, and instantly my attention was drawn to Seth.”

“Why is that?” Freddie asks, leaning back in his chair, looking at her squarely.

“He seemed sad,” Kate says. “I wanted to help him.”

“And you did, I’m assuming.”

“I think so,” Kate answers evasively. “I mean, he asked for my number before he and Richie left, and we started dating. It was hard to get him to come out of his shell at first, but we have a… _connection_.”

“Connection?” Freddie asks, raising a brow skeptically.

Kate nods. “I’m sure you’re aware of my history. My parents dying. Me adopting my younger brother, trying to take care of him.”

“I am,” Freddie says, and he’s softer about this, more apathetic.

Kate smiles genuinely at him caring, because most people don't. “Seth and Richie had a rough childhood," she says, grimacing, because _rough_ doesn't really cover it, but she's not going to go into detail with a government official, of all people. "Seth’s been trying to take of his brother for a long time. We… _bonded_ over that.”

“Is that why you married him?” Freddie asks. “So you could take care of your brother better?”

Kate shifts in her seat, stamps down the _yes_ bubbling up in her throat and shakes her head instead, back to the script. “Seth and I fell in love,” Kate says, heart hammering in her chest. “I mean, is it that strange for two people who are alike to fall in love?”

“I guess not,” Freddie says, looking a little more convinced, but there’s still a hard edge in his gaze, unsettling. "Most of the time people who have experienced tragedy come together."

Kate swallows, nodding her head in agreement. “Anyways,” she says, trying to move forwards, not lingering on his words because they make her head spin. “He proposed, and I said yes. We’d already had the wedding planned out for last month when we got his deportation letter, so it didn’t really seem like a big deal.”

“You weren’t worried that it looks suspicious that he got married not even two weeks before he was supposed to be kicked out of the country?” Freddie asks, and his tone is placid, false.

“No,” Kate says. “We love each other.”

“What does Seth do for a living, Kate?” Freddie asks, changing the topic again.

Kate looks at him squarely, beginning to get irritated. “You know that.”

“But do _you_?” Freddie asks.

Kate sighs. “Shipping,” she says, remembers verbatim the false working category Richie told her he and Seth write down on their tax forms every year. “He works for Madrigal Enterprises, and he and Richie are head of their produce shipping department.”

“The one that comes from out of Canada?” Freddie asks.

“From Mexico,” Kate says, not letting him catch her in a lie.

Freddie nods, looks at her for a moment before exhaling loudly. “Do you know much about their boss, Kate?”

“Mr. Madrigal is the one who hosted our wedding at his house,” Kate says, clenching her hands into fists. “He’s very kind to us.” Her tongue feels heavy after she says that, venomous.

“He’s also a known drug dealer who gets away with anything he wants because he’s good at making sure the government can’t prove it,” Freddie says, making Kate gape and blink and sit up straight. Freddie doesn't let her linger in shock though, goes on by asking, “Do you know why I have the title of Ranger?”

“Let me guess,” Kate says, tone growing cold. “You were a Texas Ranger once?”

Freddie nods, undeterred by her exasperation. “Before I transferred to this department, yeah. I like to keep the title of Ranger Gonzalez in honor of my partner, Earl. My partner, who died trying to bust one of Carlos Madrigal’s deals.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Kate says, automatic instinct, a saying she learned very well last year after her parents died.

“Thank you,” Freddie says sincerely. “Earl was a good man. I’d known him since I was a little boy. It was pretty awful, seeing him shot down in cold blood by some of Carlos’ men during that deal.”

“How do you know it was Carlos for sure?” Kate asks.

“Don’t play stupid, Kate,” Freddie says softly, making Kate reel back in shock. “You’re a smart girl-– that much is obvious. I’m sure you’ve figured out what your husband really does for a living.”

“Shipping,” Kate says firmly, sticking to her story.

Freddie smiles sadly. “Listen, Kate,” he says. “If you’re doing this because someone threatened you, you can tell me. I’m here to help you.”

“I’m doing this because I _love_ Seth,” Kate says, but her voice is small.

“Kate, please look at me,” Freddie says, and she does, sees honest concern written in the man’s eyes. “You wouldn’t be the first young girl that’s had her life ruined by Carlos Madrigal and his lackeys. I understand that you’re trying to take care of your brother, and to marry someone with the promise of money? Hell, I’d do it too. But you have to know that being with Seth Gecko is _dangerous_.”

“I didn’t marry him for money,” Kate says, tone firm. “And he isn’t dangerous. He’s kind.”

“Is he, really?” Freddie asks.

Something about his tone makes Kate bristle. Everyone she’s met who thinks they know the Geckos has always called them bastards and liars and thieves. They never try to look past their hard surfaces. But Kate’s seen a side of Seth and Richie that no one else has. Yes, they lied to her at first, but they obviously regret it. Even though she has to live with them, they opened their home to her and Scott without as much as a bat of their eyes. They take care of her. They’re stubborn and sweet and annoying, but they’ve been through a lot and they don’t have to be as kind to her as they are.

She thinks about the time when she first brought Scott over to the Gecko house, how Seth showed her his momma’s cross. She thinks about Richie always comforting her even though he’s not good at it and it takes a lot for him to do so. She thinks about Seth giving her his momma’s ring when he didn’t have to. She thinks about Richie holding her at the wedding so she felt safe. She thinks about Seth talking to her of his childhood the other month, open, honest. She thinks about how the both of them hugged her when they came back from that job the other day, how they both _missed_ her while they were gone.

“They both are,” Kate says, sneering, protective. “And I don’t appreciate you talking about them in any other way.”

Freddie blinks, sees the intent behind her words. “So you did not marry Mr. Gecko simply to earn him a green card?”

“I didn’t,” Kate says, conviction in her words. “I married him because I _wanted to_.”

The office is silent after that, Freddie looking at her in contemplation. Finally he sighs with a sad shake of his head, stands up. “The papers you filed with the I.N.A. have not been finalized by Homeland Security yet,” he says. “That’s why we called you in, to make sure you were being honest with your intentions.”

“Seems awful useless,” Kate says, standing too.

“I guess it was,” Freddie answers her, going to open the office door. “I’ll take you back to your husband now, Mrs. Gecko.”

“Thank you,” Kate says.

She goes to walk past him but freezes when Freddie touches her shoulder–- his grip feels like her father’s did, nurturing and loving and concerned. “Kate,” he says, and she looks up at him, all the fire draining out of her when she sees the distress in his eyes for her. “If you _ever_ need help, I want you to know, you can call me. Here,” he says, reaching into his pocket and taking out a card with his information on it, handing it to her. “Morning, noon, night, you call me. I want to help you and your brother both.”

“I’m sure I’ll be okay,” Kate says, but she tucks the card into her sleeve anyways.

“I’m hoping so,” Freddie says, his smile tight.

He walks her back out, both of them silent as they move into the waiting area of the courthouse. Kate tells herself to calm down, because she did fine. Seth is waiting for her, looking fierce and protective as he stands, glaring at Freddie and the way he’s so close to Kate, not knowing the difference between suspicion and kindness. Kate smiles at Seth for reassurance, happy at the way his shoulders deflate and his hand reaches out for her–-

Before Kate can go to him, Freddie takes her hand, stopping her, giving the appendage a false shake goodbye.

“And Kate?” he says as she pulls away, flexing her fingers guiltily.

“Yes?” she asks, not meeting his eye.

“Judge Ramirez didn’t sign your marriage license; Judge Gueye did,” Freddie says, making her suck in a breath and look up at him frantically. He smiles, a mixture of smugness and compassion when he says, “But that’ll be our little secret that you didn’t know any better.”

Kate simply stares at him, body beginning to shake.

“Remember you have my card,” Freddie says, touching a reassuring hand to her elbow. “I’m sure you’ll need it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Seth and Scott’s interviews go through without a hitch, both of them coming back confident, easy. Kate was shaking after hers, wrote it off as a simple, “I hate lying,” and no one questioned her, too apprehensive for their own turn.

Richie’s last to go, and he comes out sweating.

“What is it?” Seth asks as they’re all walking to the car, thinking they’ve gotten away with it, his step relaxed as Kate and Scott go on ahead, talking together quietly.

“I know why Gonzalez is up our asses so badly,” Richie says.

“Why?” Seth asks, thinking of Gonzalez’s venomous tone with him, his accusations about what working for Carlos Madrigal really entails. How Seth married Kate just to stay in the country, ruined the poor girl’s life for a green card. Seth sidestepped every jab, has gone through this process before, knows how to play the system. Gonzalez has no real evidence on them, anyways. Just a bunch of grudging accusations.

At least Seth thinks the Ranger can’t pin them until Richie says, “That deal he was talking about, where his partner got shot, we were _there_.”

“He can’t prove it,” Seth says, but he’s wavering by the panicked tone to Richie’s words.

“Seth,” Richie says, stopping, wobbling on his crutches; Seth turns to look at him, sees the fear in his brother’s gaze. “I’m the one that shot his partner.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Two weeks later they get the noticed that their filing with the I.N.A. has been approved.

At first all of them are shocked, figured for sure the Ranger would fight harder to fuck them over. But eventually the shock turns into relief as they realize that they’ve truly gotten away with it, that the government believes them. The only thing they have to worry about now is Carlos, but he hasn’t called since the wedding. They’re all safe, together, not locked up in a cell somewhere or buried shallowly in the fucking desert.

“We should celebrate,” Richie says after he’s done reading the letter, addressed to them by none other than Ranger Gonzalez himself, who made sure to attach a promissory note that said the case will continued to be monitored, but really, in the grand scheme of things, that means absolutely nothing. The Ranger obviously lost his footing, couldn’t find any evidence to convict the Geckos and hold off Homeland Security’s strict need to pass as many inconsequential cases as possible in lieu of the bigger ones.

In other words, the Gecko family is home free, baby.

“What were you thinking?” Seth asks, lounging at the other end of the couch, sipping on his beer with a smile, gazing at Kate fondly as she sews up a rip in one of his shirts, having nagged him enough to finally giving the damn thing over and let her act like goddamn Suzy Homemaker, as Seth put it. Richie knows that Seth actually likes when she takes care of them though, and was just giving her shit because it’s how he shows affection.

“There’s a concert at the Alamo tonight,” Richie says, bouncing his good leg happily. He heard about it the other week and wants to go, likes the band well enough, likes concerts even more. Usually he hates being around a lot of people, but something about being around a lot of people who are all in the same place with one common interest–- it’s unifying, makes Richie feel like he actually belongs. Besides, with his family in tow, there’s no chance he’d feel like an outcast anyways. “We should go.”

“With you in the boot?” Scott asks, raising a brow from where he’s sitting next to Kate in the love seat by the window, absentmindedly scratching Brando’s head and reading one of the comic books Richie’s lent him to try and get the kid into things they can both talk to each other about. Richie knows Kate wants him and Seth to get along with her brother, and for anyone else Richie wouldn’t give a fuck, but, because it’s Kate, he’s trying.

Seth’s trying, too. Takes Scott to his art classes, taught the kid how to shoot a gun because it’s something Scott’s interested in and Seth knows how to do like a pro. Kate frowned about it at first, of course, but the way Scott’s eyes lit up when he hit the targets at the shooting range, she finally gave in, even shot a few rounds herself.

Richie helped her line herself up right so she wouldn’t get hurt by the recoil, softness of her body pressing into his own, his hands on her wrists, her waist. She smelled amazing, like strawberries and vanilla and sunshine, and being so close to her, her little hips wiggling against his as he got comfortable… Richie really shouldn’t jerk off at night thinking about his brother’s wife, but something tells him Seth wouldn’t mind, not really.

“All the better to move up in line with,” Richie says, grinning over at Scott cockily. “Play the cripple, get sympathy, and weasel our way to a better view.”

“You’ve got a point,” Scott concedes. “Who’s the concert for?”

Richie names the band, watches as Scott’s face lights up and he turns to Kate excitedly, apparently being into the named music. Richie and Seth turn to look at her too, letting her decide, always letting Kate choose.

“Why not?” she asks after a moment, and Scott hugs her, Brando jumping up and barking, wagging his tail excitedly to match Scott’s sudden demeanor.

“Well, princess,” Seth says, standing up and brushing off his jacket. “Best get changed then. Can’t go to a concert in your _pajamas_.”

“Fuck you, it’s my day off,” Kate says, sticking her tongue out at him.

Seth laughs, and Richie watches the way it makes his brother’s face light up, the first time he’s seen Seth any semblance to happy in a long time.

 _Y_ _eah, definitely wouldn’t mind_ , Richie thinks, knowing Seth wouldn’t be mad that the thought of Kate’s pretty, little pink mouth gets Richie off at night, because Richie knows Seth’s thinking about the same, exact image right this moment.

 

* * *

 

 

All things considered, Seth’s not really a concert kind of person.

Too noisy, too sweaty, everything smells like pot and spilled beer and sweat. People jostle into you, grab at you, yank your hair just to get past. Seth doesn’t even really like the music, either. Most of the time bands sound like shit when they’re live, and half the bands he actually really likes are too old to tour anymore. Except the Stones of course–- those old bastards will be throwing concerts from the grave, he’d bet money on it.

But Kate and Richie and Scott seem to be enjoying themselves.

The band has a small knit community of fans, tickets cheap enough, general admissions so they’re all standing around on the floor, getting the shit beat out of them as people pump their fists in the air during the opening set. Seth wraps his arm around Kate’s waist protectively, pulling her out of the way of an enthusiastic crowd surfer about to kick her in the head. Kate glances up at him, eyes thankful, and he grins at her.

She turns around, comfortable with his hands settling on her hips possessively, keeping her from getting dragged away from him. He might also be so handsy because of the fact that she’s dressed like sin, cute little pair of boots on her feet, Daisy Dukes that barely cover, a crop top printed in pastel flowers. Lots of skin accessible, and his hands itched to touch it, so he finally gives in and lets himself because usually she doesn’t dress like this and he doesn’t know when he’ll have the chance to do more than fantasize about it after tonight.

Then again, she might _hopefully_ wear this stuff more often, because the clothes are new, Seth noticed when she walked down the stairs in them earlier. “Looks like you finally took my advice and got some new scrubs,” he said to her, smirking as he pulled on a jacket over his simple t-shirt and jeans.

Kate shrugged nonchalantly. “Considering I don’t have to worry about rent, I figured I should put your money to good use, Gecko.” She smirked back at him, stubborn little thing because she’d almost _insisted_ about paying to live with them when she first moved in, but neither Seth nor Richie would hear of it, considering it’s their fault she’s stuck with them in the first place.

Seth just rolled his eyes at her, waited until their brothers were ready to go. They got here early enough they didn’t have to wait in line long after grabbing tickets, got inside and bought something to drink, stood around and talked with the crowd, Scott getting in real good with this one kid who was definitely flirting with the youngest Fuller. Made moony eyes and everything, the kid’s face lighting up when Scott touched his hand to pass phones back and forth.

“Did you get his number?” Kate asked when Scott came back as the band started up.

“Maybe,” Scott said, smiling.

Kate smiled back, and when Seth asked why she was so giddy about her younger brother dating she just laughed happily. “It’s something kids his age do. That’s good. I’m glad he gets to be normal, now.”

It made Seth remember what he’d talked to her about a week prior, when they were all just sitting around waiting to hear back about their I.N.A. filing. It was the middle of the night again, a time where Kate would usually be with Richie, but he’d crashed early, and when Seth came down for something to drink and definitely not to accidentally run into her, she invited him to sit like that time a month earlier, propped her bare feet up on the coffee table and sipped at a lukewarm Coke, her and Scott’s preferred beverage of choice Seth has come to notice.

“What’ya watching?” Seth asked after grabbing a beer from the fridge and plopping down next to her, spreading his arm behind her head across the back of the couch.

Over the past month and a half, it’s become second-nature for him to touch her the same way he does Richie. Hell, he even makes excuses to do it, like passing her the syrup at the breakfast table and brushing their hands together, waking her up in the mornings before her shifts at the cafe when she forgets to set her alarm and pressing his fingers softly into her shoulders, tickling her when she’s being particularly stubborn, hands everywhere. And it’s kind of weird he’s so dependent on the feel of her skin anymore, because Seth’s never been good with casual contact. Doesn’t know why, could be because of remnants of abuse or the fact that his pure fucking need to be held sometimes is goddamn scary, maybe even a mixture of both. But with Kate, it’s easy, natural, _wanted_. Feels right, feels _good_.

“A Streetcar Named Desire,” Kate said, glancing over at him.

“Brando, huh?” he asked, grinning at her.

“Richie recommended it,” Kate answered.

“There’s a reason he named that damned dog after this guy,” Seth said, nodding to the television screen. The damned dog in question was upstairs sleeping with Scott, the same thing he’s been doing since the Fullers moved in–- Seth’s glad that Richie’s not sore about the fact the mutt’s got a new best friend.

“It’s pretty good,” Kate conceded, flexing her feet, Seth’s eyes drawn to the attention of her legs, nearly bare beneath the minuscule fabric of her sleep shorts.

He licked his lips, wondering how those soft thighs of hers would feel wrapped around his waist, having let his thoughts stray more and more about her over the past couple of weeks. “Why you up alone, princess? Surely it’s not to watch some old movie,” he said, throat dry.

Kate raised her shoulder quietly, and that’s when Seth made himself look at her face, the way she was biting her lip. She was antsy about something, but too shy to explain, he could tell. She’s got these little ticks about things that he’s come to notice, especially when she’s uncertain. Always biting her lip, playing with her hair.

“What is it, sweetheart?” he asked, soft with her so she felt safe to open up to him.

Since that night the week after the wedding, they hadn’t talked about anything important. Shoot the breeze in the morning over coffee, play a twisted game of twenty questions in the afternoon, learning favorite colors and foods offhandedly, talk about their days before bed, but never anything serious. Seth’s still kind of terrified of how easily she gets him to spill his guts, how all the words that will scare her away want to come tumbling out.

But then she went and got all self-conscious on him, and he couldn’t help himself in wanting to comfort her, _take care of her_ like a real husband would do for their wife.

He looked at the ring on her finger at the thought, reached for her hand and started spinning the band between his thumb and index. “You can tell me, Kate,” he whispered, and she looked up at him, eyes unsure.

“You’re gonna think I’m stupid,” she said, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth again.

“Only if you’re thinking of climbing Mt. Everest,” he answered, and she laughed, and that made him happy.

“Well…” she said, eyes glancing towards a book she had sitting on the coffee table–- his gaze followed hers, quickly reading the title, something about an introduction to applying for college, and he suddenly understood.

“You wanna go to school?” Seth asked.

Kate nodded, looking down at where he was still playing with her wedding ring. “I mean, I’d have to wait until the spring, but I…”

“You?” Seth prodded, tilting his head for her to continue, wanting to hear what she had to say.

“A lot of college kids come into the café,” she explained, blushing. “And I always hear them talking about courses, and how terrible they are and it all sounds so… _normal_. What kids my age do.”

 _What kids my age do instead of marrying drug pushers for money._ She didn’t have to say that part, because Seth understood well enough. And he didn’t hold it against her. Actually, he was kind of glad she wants to go to school, have something _normal_. After all the shit he and Richie have put her and Scott through, Kate and her brother deserve a little semblance of ordinary in their lives.

“What would you go for?” Seth asked, looking at her encouragingly.

Kate shrugged, taking her legs off the coffee table, twisting towards him with her hand still in his embrace so she could sit crisscross, gaze matching his own. Seth straightened up too, angled his torso towards hers and pulled his legs up on the couch, spreading them out on either side of hers. Kate grabbed his other hand with hers unconsciously, starting up a sloppy game of Mercy, both of them bending each other’s hands back and forth, Kate laughing.

“I’d have to go to the community one,” she said, focusing on trying to make Seth crack first. “This way I can save most of the money for Scott.”

“If you need help with tuition-–” Seth started, but Kate shook her head, cutting him off.

“I’m already using _your_ money,” she said, bending his wrist back at a painful angle, game getting serious and sparking something competitive in Seth, as did her tone of not wanting to be helped.

“You earned it,” he said, squeezing her knuckles, feeling like he was back in grade school playing this exact game with Richie, only though they’d always cheated and kicked each other so the other one would let go first.

“Not technically,” Kate answered, tongue poking out of her mouth as she concentrated and forced Seth’s hands to the sides, making him grimace.

“Well, what would you be anyways?” Seth asked, toes twitching as he tried to keep his composure, pushing her hands back, watching as Kate’s nose wrinkled before she dug her nails into his skin in retaliation.

“I was thinking maybe a nurse,” she said, squeaking when Seth found an angle to keep her hands caught, applying a little more force, not enough to really hurt her, but enough to maybe make her say uncle.

“Nurse?” Seth asked. “The old guys would be all over you during your residency, sweetheart. Expect your ass to get pinched a _lot_.”

“Men,” Kate scoffed, forcing Seth to double-back as she gripped between his fingers and applied enough pressure to make it fucking _sting_. “Always thinking you have the right to touch a woman when she doesn’t want to be touched.”

“Not all men,” Seth answered.

Kate rolled her eyes. “You’re missing the point, Seth,” she said, punctured the words by twisting his wrists in a full circle, making the bones pop.

“Ow, fuck, _mercy_!” he said, yanking his hands away after she dropped him, trying to shake out the kinks in his bones. “Where the hell did you get so good at that? I thought preachers' daughters are opposed to violence?”

“We are,” Kate grinned, looking so smug for winning, so _comfortable_ , her eyes alight that he hadn’t mocked her choice to go back to school, had only teased her a little because that’s just what he does. “But preachers'  _sons_ aren’t. Scott had a real ‘ _I’m a tough guy_ ’ bratty phase when he was a kid, and I learned how to fight back.”

“I’ll say,” Seth answered, rubbing the bottom of his palms where the tendons had lost feeling. “Guess those old guys better watch themselves, then.”

“Damn straight,” Kate laughed.

And Seth’s glad that Kate’s still planning on applying for undergrad, that Scott’s making friends at his art classes and acting like a regular teenager. He’s glad that the Fullers have become so stable since coming to live with them, that even though they’re only here because they have to be, they’re not letting their lives stop. Seth’s glad they get that close shot at normal living that he and Richie never did.

“We’re gonna get closer to the front!” Seth glances over to where Richie’s yelling at him, pointing between himself and Scott; Richie wasn’t kidding when he said he’d use his crutches to get them good spots. “You guys wanna go?”

Seth glances down at Kate and she leans back in his embrace, tipping her head up towards his. “I’m good,” she says contently, swaying to the music.

“We’re good,” Seth says to his brother, not taking his eyes off Kate’s and missing Richie and Scott’s shared eye roll before they give their siblings a wave and start making their trek towards the stage, Richie using his crutches to whack people out of the way.

Seth just keeps looking at Kate after they’re gone. She’s turned her head towards the stage again by now, but she’s got her hands on his where they sit on her hips, body moving back and forth to the beat. They’re pressed in together on all sides from the crowd, no space between them, and so every time Kate sways her ass rubs back against the front of his jeans and Seth tries not to moan, tries not to get excited.

He thinks of dead kittens and old grandmothers and any other boner-killer known to man, but the more Kate moves the less he thinks about those things and starts thinking about her instead. The flashes of skin he sees, the smell of her hair, the taste of her mouth when he kissed her after they got married.

She rarely dresses in the bathroom anymore, has stopped being embarrassed about walking around in a towel or big t-shirts. A couple weeks ago they all went swimming at a friend of Seth and Richie’s from the job, Jessie’s house, and Kate wore this little bikini, cute and colorful but also very revealing. They played chicken and she sat on Seth’s shoulders, thighs against the sides of his head, and he couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened had she been laying down and they were like that, his mouth making a solid trail up between her thighs, how she’d taste there, sweet and wet for him, if she’d say his name while he ate her out, if she’d pull on his hair and blush when he’d tell her how good she is, how much he wants to fuck her, mark her up, make her beg for more.

He thinks about it now, about what it’d be like to move his hands down the front of her shorts, find her wet and needy for him. He wonders what her mouth would feel like around his cock, if she’d be shy or bold. He wonders what it’d be like to bend her over and take her from behind, wrap his fingers up in that soft, soft hair of hers and make her look at him as she comes undone.

“Fuck,” he mutters, impossibly hard as she sways against him.

For her part, Kate doesn’t seem to notice, too caught up in the music and roar of the crowd. Seth thanks any God willing to listen for that, realizes he needs to get out of here and go cool down for a minute before Kate _does_ realize that she’s unconsciously dry humping him and he’s a fucking pervert because this all should be innocent but his dick won’t seem to let it go that way.

“Hey,” Seth says, squeezing her hips, catching her attention. “I’m gonna go get something to drink.”

“Want me to go with?” Kate asks, but she doesn’t seem like she wants to really move, luckily.

“No,” Seth says, taking a step back from her and grimacing as his erection rubs against his zipper. _Shit_. “You stay here, hold our place.”

“Okay,” Kate smiles, instantly turns back to the music and keeps dancing in place.

Seth stares at her for a moment longer, concedes that they’re far enough back in the crowd she won’t get smooshed anymore than is to be expected at a concert and goes to get himself a drink, breathing harshly and trying to make his fucking boner just give it up already, because he definitely is _not_ jerking off in the bathroom at a fucking alternative rock concert. Even a no good, thieving bastard like him has st _an_ da _rds_.

Sighing, he gets in line by the beer cart, moves along with the queue before suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck raise, a certain Spidey-sense guys in his line of work have when they’re being watched. Feigning nonchalance, Seth scans the crowd, trying to look for outliers. The only thing he comes up with is an old biker bigger than a brick-shit-house, but that’s only because Seth’s wondering why the guy would be at a concert like this, so completely into the music he’s hollering at the stage like a teenage fangirl.

Shaking his head, Seth tries scoping out the place again and comes up with nothing at the same time the feeling of being watched dies down, his nerves settling. He decides that maybe he was just being stupid, because everyone knows following a person at a concert is a stupid idea–- get knocked around too much, lose sight of the target. Really the only good thing about him freaking out for nothing is that he’s not hard anymore, thank Christ.

After getting himself a beer and Kate a cup of water because she fucking _hates_ beer and there’s no Coke-a-Cola, Seth goes back over to where he left her. Finds her standing there with some tall, cocky-ass frat boy trying to talk to her. For a moment Seth just stands there, jealousy bubbling up in his chest because the kid is _so close_ to Kate, his hand on Kate’s arm, _touching her_ , intimate and alluding.

Very quickly, Seth realizes he never wants anyone but himself to touch Kate like that ever again, and it feels like a punch to the gut, instantaneous pain and shock-induced desire, a firework warning, a crack and sizzle realization going off in the back of his skull.

And it’d be one thing if Kate just didn’t want Seth, if she actually liked the frat kid-– Seth would hold his tongue, let it be, go get another beer or twenty and get the fuck away from here so he doesn’t have to see this–- but then he notices the pinched look on Kate’s face, the way her hands are clenching into fists and she’s obviously telling Van Wilder to back off, that she doesn’t want him but he’s still not leaving her alone, and Seth sees red.

He drops the drinks and stomps forwards, putting himself between Kate and Van Wilder, glaring at the latter as adrenaline floods his system. “Seth,” Kate grumbles, trying to pull him back as Van Wilder smirks at him, oblivious.

“You must be her dad,” Van Wilder says, and Seth thinks the kid must be the biggest fucking idiot in the world or is purposely _asking_ for a shiner.

“I’m her _husband_ , actually,” Seth sneers, doesn’t listen to Kate even as she tries to pull him back again, says they should just move, it’s no big deal, it’s fine, she can handle herself, he needs to stop–- Seth doesn’t hear any of it, too busy wanting to knock Van Wilder’s face off.

“She didn’t mention having a husband,” Van Wilder says, tilting his head arrogantly, trying to peer past Seth at Kate-– Seth blocks his view, defensive and protective, because how _dare_ this little punk try to look at _his_ girl when she obviously isn’t interested.

“Well, she does,” Seth seethes. “Now leave her alone.”

“Or what?” Van Wilder asks. “You gonna make me, old man?”

“Old man?” Seth asks, scoffing. “That the best you got?”

“Well it’s not like–-” Seth doesn’t give the kid a chance to finish, punches him right in his pasty ass face and smirks as the kid tips over, falling down, the crowd around them gasping, taking a few steps back.

“ _Seth_!” Kate hisses, tone mortified.

Seth turns and sees she’s scowling at him, can’t be scolded because he’s still ready for a real fight, hands clenched into the fist. He looks back at Van Wilder after shrugging at her, ready to pull the kid back up if he can’t do it himself, only so Seth can knock him down a second time, and maybe a third, or tenth.

“Okay, okay, hold it, Rocky.” Someone shouts as Seth takes an intent step forwards, and both he and Kate turn in time to see two rent-a-cops walk up, one helping Van Wilder off the floor, the other looking at Seth sternly, an expression that says he won’t put up with any trouble. “You two,” he says, pointing between Seth and Kate. “Out of here.”

“Now wait a minute…” Seth starts, annoyed, but Kate grabs his arm, makes him settle down and _pulls_.

“We’re going,” Kate says to the rent-a-cop, and the beefcake nods, watching irately as Kate pulls Seth away, even as he drags his feet like a petulant child.

Outside the Alamo hall, Kate leans against the side of the building, arms crossed over her chest as she scowls at Seth. “What the fuck, Seth?” she asks.

“That guy was a shithead,” Seth says, having settled just a little between the trek from the concert hall to here.

“Doesn’t mean you needed to clock him!” Kate shouts, jumping out at him, riling Seth up with leftover adrenaline from when he punched Van Wilder, system lighting up again. He realizes quickly he’s still itching for a fight, all his jealousy and the fear of it spilling over, making him wired and _angry_.

“He was _touching you_!” Seth snarls, like that explains everything.

“I could’ve _handled it_!” Kate screams. “I’m not some little girl you have to protect! You don’t have to go around _hurting everyone_ just because you don’t know how to use your goddamn _words_!”

“What the fuck is _that_ supposed to mean?” Seth shouts, getting up in her personal space, but Kate doesn’t back down.

“It _means_ that half the time you act like an emotionally constipated _five year old_!” Kate yells, shaking a finger at him accusingly. “You think you’re mister strong and mighty, but you’re afraid of your own _feelings_ , so you just go around taking your anger out by doing stupid things like knocking out some idiot who was _harmless_!”

“So _what_?!” Seth screams, hurt bubbling up to the forefront. “You expect me to go around saying what I _feel_ all the time, Kate? Think the world works like that, like we can all just have a good cry and feel better? Well, guess what, it _doesn’t_!”

“I _know_ that!” Kate says, shoving him away from her, making him stumble back and cuss. “You think I’m stupid? Think I don’t understand what it’s like to be angry _all the time_? Guess what–- I _do_!”

“Bullshit,” Seth says, looking at her judgingly. “You walk around like everything’s fine, all sweet and kind, always wanting everyone to _like you_.”

“Maybe I do,” Kate says, baring her teeth. “But that’s because I was raised that way, okay? I was raised to keep it all in!”

“Oh, please,” Seth barks, rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Do tell about your perfect little life as preacher’s daughter. I’m sure you got _everything_ you wanted.”

Kate reels away as if he’s just hit her, and it makes him flinch. “Are you forgetting my parents are _dead_?!” she screams, and it’s then Seth notices she’s crying, blinks and some of the rage melts out of him, his body going rigid as Kate sobs, shakes her head and shoves him again. “Maybe I did get what I wanted when I was little, okay? I was a stupid, naïve _child_! And then my mom  _killed_ herself and my dad  _gave up_ and  _died_  and me and Scott were all _alone_  and I couldn’t be a kid anymore!”

“Everyone has to grow up sometime,” Seth says, tone still sharp, but it’s lessening, adrenaline draining out of his system, being replaced by concern as Kate starts crying harder.

“And let me guess?” she says, crossing her arms defensively. “You had it worse? Is that what you’re playing at? Your life was worse than mine? Well, newsflash, I can’t change that, Seth. It’s just how it is.”

“I never said my life was _worse_ ,” he says, wondering what she’s getting at.

“Then why are you so _empty_?” Kate asks. “What made you so afraid to feel things?”

“You really wanna know?” Seth asks, fear bubbling up in his throat, but he’s still just mad enough that he’s going to tell her if she asks, going to spit it at her feet and make her stop this whole argument, stop crying, stop making him feel like shit.

“I do,” Kate says, tears streaming steadily down her face.

“Well, basically, everyone I’ve ever cared about’s left me, princess,” Seth says, tone cruel. “So please excuse me if I don’t have the time for la la feelings land.”

“Richie hasn’t left you,” Kate says, her voice growing softer, but she’s still crying, and Seth still feels like shit.

“He can’t,” Seth says. “He’s my brother.”

“Family can leave,” Kate says, quietly now. “There’s nothing stopping anyone from leaving you if they don’t care about you.”

“There’s threats,” Seth says, takes a step closer to her, tilts up her chin softly because she’s stopped looking at him and he _needs_ her to look at him when he says this. “Threatening someone’s family makes them stay with you.”

Kate squints at him, all the anger drained away from her face, eyes still red with tears. “Is _that_ what this is about?” she asks.

“What?” Seth asks, swallowing dryly, taking a step away from her, from her intensity and warmth.

Kate doesn’t let him get far, closes the distance between them when he’s at the lip of the street. “Were you _jealous_?” Kate asks.

“No,” Seth lies, avoiding _her_ gaze now. “It was just obvious you didn’t want him around…”

“And if I _had_ wanted him around?” Kate asks. “Would you be jealous then?”

Seth closes his eyes, hates that she’s somehow turned this all around, brought it back on him. “So what if I would be? Doesn’t mean anything. This is just a _job_ , remember?”

“Seth…” He keeps his eyes closed, doesn’t want to look at her, see her staring at him with pity, because he knows she will be. Kate’s sweet, she’ll feel sympathy for him, but she won’t empathize with the situation. She doesn't want to be here though he wants her to be. “Seth, look at me.”

And there’s pleading in her tone, and because he’s turned into a total fucking wreck with denying her anything, Seth looks at her. But he doesn’t see pleading. He doesn’t see sympathy, or that she feels bad for him, or that she thinks he’s a total fucking perverted moron.

Instead he sees openness, and she’s staring at him so caring and loving, and _God_ , she’s fucking beautiful and he can’t stand it.

“This isn’t _just_ a job,” Kate says then, making him blink, swallow dryly in confusion. “I mean, it was, but then…”

“Then what?” Seth asks, afraid of what she has to say.

Kate shakes her head, reaches up to press a hand to his face and he inhales sharply, leans into her touch even though he shouldn’t. “I didn’t want that boy near me because he wasn’t _you_ , Seth,” Kate whispers. “He wasn’t my husband.”

Seth’s lips part, the breath rushing out of his lungs as he tries to find a lie there in her words but he can’t, can’t find it in her gaze either. She’s being honest, he realizes. She’s being honest and open and she’s glancing at his mouth, licking her lower lip and rubbing the edge of it with her thumb and she’s _smiling_ like she wants to be here, be here with  _him_.

 _Shit_.

“Yeah, totally fucked,” Seth murmurs, and Kate starts to say, “ _What_ –” but Seth cuts her off, his mouth coming down hard and wanting over her own.

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Until death in snakeskin boots do us part.

 

 

Kate makes a dry sound in the back of her throat when Seth kisses her, somewhere between a gasp and a realization.

Her eyes slide closed, his mouth warm and supple, tongue licking fully at her bottom lip until Kate opens up to him, grips at the collar of his sweat jacket and holds on for dear life as he really kisses her, the same way he did after they said _I do_.

Seth groans at her acceptance of him, fists his hands in her hair and tugs, making Kate move her head, let him get a better angle. And they go at it for a couple minutes longer, playing tonsil hockey on the curb like a couple of teenagers before Kate can’t breathe, pulls away sharply, Seth’s mouth trailing down her neck, teeth nipping at her skin.

A car drives by and honks, making them break apart like they’ve been caught red handed, fingers stuffed down in the bottom of the cookie jar.

Kate glances up, sees Seth staring at her with wide eyes, lips slick with shared saliva— he licks the wetness away, closes his eyes briefly and shakes his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she answers him, reaching out to tug him forwards by the fabric of his t-shirt.

“What I said wasn’t right,” he whispers.

“I said mean things, too,” Kate dotes. “People say mean things when they’re angry.”

“You just make me kind of fucking unhinged,” Seth says, reaching out to run his fingers across her lower lip, making Kate blush, the insides of her legs clench, a not so foreign feeling but it’s new because she’s never felt this way around other people, not even when she was kissing Kyle in the back of her daddy’s church.

She pulls away, bites her lip and tastes the salt of his skin there. “You just made it up to me,” she says.

“I’d like to make it up to you _more_ ,” Seth answers.

Kate blinks, settles her gaze on his own and breathes out at the desire she finds there. “We can’t leave Richie and Scott.”

“The car’s parked in the deck not thirty yards away.”

Kate laughs at his idea, grabs his hand and tugs. “Well then,” she says, beginning to walk, and Seth follows her.

“I feel like I’m sixteen and sneaking out to go have sex on a school night,” Seth says as they enter the parking deck, digs around in his jeans for the car keys.

Kate doesn’t answer him, the word _sex_ making her head buzz. But she keeps walking none the less, stops when they get to the car and turns around to face him, to maybe ask what this all means, but Seth doesn’t give her a chance. Kisses her instead, and it’s awkward and funny, their teeth clacking, his hands reaching behind them to unlock the back door and push her towards the open space.

They go tumbling into the back seat together, Seth landing on top of Kate, both of them laughing as her knees dig into his stomach and his elbows pin her hair to the seat. She tries to kiss him again, presses her mouth against his sloppily, their lips slick, Seth’s tongue slipping over her own, hesitant and sure at the same time.

Kate grabs the collar of his sweat jacket, pulls him forwards as he hooks his foot into the door handle, slams it shut and startles the both of them, pulling back to look at each other and laugh again. She brushes his hair off his forehead, feels the strands collect between her fingers and spike up with sweat. He turns his face to kiss her exposed wrist, stubble tickling her skin and making her smile.

“Can you believe that kid called you my _dad_?” she asks, because Seth really can’t be mistaken for much older than his actual age of twenty-eight, and Kate knows she looks about her age, too, meaning he would’ve had to of been _nine_ when he had her and that’s just about the stupidest thing to think about.

“Fuckin’ Van Wilder,” Seth says, shaking his head, leaning in and kissing her again. His mouth trails down after a moment, over the curve of her jaw, teeth catching her skin and Kate breathes out shallowly, the sting of it making her ache and want. She blushes and the heat of it spreads, hitting every nerve ending until she’s panting by the time Seth’s done leaving a hickey right below her ear, rubbing her thighs against his sides as he leans up to whisper, “But you _can_ call me daddy, sweetheart.”

Kate blinks, turns to look at him but he doesn’t give her a chance to ask him about it, catching her mouth in another heated kiss, body bowing into hers as he cups her face, holding her in place so he can kiss her more firmly, like he’s trying to devour her whole. She whimpers, his pelvis set in the cradle of her own and she can _feel_ him, hard and thick as he grinds down into her in a slow, practiced rhythm, making her flush more, feel tingly and needy all over. She fists her hands in his hair again, wraps one leg over his waist and meets his half-hearted thrusts, confused when he pulls away from her, breathing recklessly and looking at her with wide, dark eyes.

“You want more, baby girl?” he asks, voice low, raspy, coated with desire.

And Kate doesn’t exactly know what _more_ entails, but she nods anyways, desperate for some kind of friction, some kind of release. She feels wet and empty between her legs, the ache pulsing, making her jumpy and embarrassed. Because she _knows_ what _that_ means, knows that she’s going to have to get off to fix it.

Despite what most people think, Kate isn’t a nun. She’s never had sex because there’s never been a right time for it, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t touched herself before. Late at night when she can’t sleep, or if there’s a particular itch low in her belly that needs scratched. Nameless faces of men and women, lovers or fantasies. She’s pressed her fingers against herself, likes it overtop best, feels weird inside, but she knows how to make herself come. Knows what it feels like to bite into the pillow to keep herself from screaming because it feels so good.

And right now, the way Seth is looking at her, Kate realizes that it’s going to be that damn good whatever they do, and she _wants_.

“Yes,” she says, a verbal confirmation.

“Yes, what?” Seth asks, kissing and sucking at her neck, making her toes curl as he marks her there like he did on her jaw. “Yes _what_ , Kate?” Seth asks, feigning impatience.

Kate blinks again, remembering his earlier words, her whole face so hot she thinks she’s going to have a stroke as she says, “Yes, _daddy_ ,” and actually _likes_ it, likes the way it makes Seth groan and kiss her again, pressing his hips into hers hard and demanding.

“You’re fucking weird,” Kate says breathlessly after he pulls away, but she’s smiling, nips at his thumb when he brings it to her mouth and presses on her lower lip.

“Hmm,” Seth says, watching the way Kate sucks the digit into her mouth, closing his eyes and cursing when she licks at the tip. “But you obviously like it, angel.”

“I like _you_ ,” Kate says, releasing his thumb from her mouth with a wet _pop_ , grinning at the way Seth’s Adam apple bobs in his throat as he swallows thickly at the gesture.

“I like you too, baby girl,” Seth says, leaning down low so he can speak in her ear, making her shiver as he brings his hands up, skirts them at the edge of her crop top. “But I’d like you even better if you were _naked_ right now.”

“Charmer,” Kate smirks, helps him take the top off none the less, hitting her elbows against the door, the shirt getting tangled around her wrists and she laughs, Seth grumbling as he tries to pull the shirt the rest of the way off before tossing it into the front seat. The humor of it all helps Kate settle, helps her be a little less self-conscious.

At least until Seth goes to take her bra off and she shakes her head, his eyes meeting her own as she bites her lip. “Too fast?” he asks.

Kate swallows, doesn’t know the right words to say, settles for a small, “I look like a little girl,” and hides her eyes from him.

“Kate…” Seth tries, but she steadily stares at the back of the driver’s seat, embarrassed. “Kate,” he says, more firmly. “Sweetheart, look at me.”

She does only because he sounds kind, and when she meets his gaze he’s smiling at her softly, shaking his head like she’s said something funny. “What?” she snaps.

Seth keeps shaking his head, holding back laughter as he leans down and kisses her, making Kate gripe before finally conceding, taking a deep breath as his hands skim up her sides again. They settle over her breasts, cupping her through her bra, the fabric rubbing against her stiff nipples and making Kate jumpy, hips pressing up into his and Seth groans into her mouth, slips his tongue against hers suggestively as his hands _squeeze_ and, wow, that feels good, Kate can’t help but think. But she’s still a little self-conscious about how lacking she is in this department, how her tummy’s still a little round at the bottom, stretch marks from puberty on her hips and the insides of her thighs.

“You don’t look like a little girl, Kate,” Seth says eventually after he pulls away, kissing her collar sweetly.

“I don’t?” she asks, nose wrinkling, brows drawn up.

“No,” Seth says, rubbing his thumb across her nipple, leaving a wet mark on her bra with Kate’s leftover saliva from where she licked the digit earlier. “If you did, I definitely would _not_ be touching you right now. I’m a bastard, but not a _fucking_ bastard.”

“Then why do you like it when I call you daddy, daddy?” Kate asks, smirks when his erection rubs into her a little more firmly at the name.

“Kinks are kinks,” he says, shrugging. “Regardless, you still look like a woman to me, baby girl.”

“You’re a walking oxymoron,” Kate says, but she’s smiling, reaches behind herself to unhook her bra, letting the straps fall off her shoulders.

“You sure?” Seth asks her, and she nods, bites her lip as he takes the garment of the rest of the way, letting out a moan when he finally sees her bare from the waist up.

Her teeth dig harder into her lip at the feel of the warm air on her bare breasts, toes curling in her shoes as Seth leans in, kissing softly through her cleavage before moving over, lips wrapping around her right nipple and sucking softly, making Kate gasp, body arching up as the sensation goes straight down between her thighs, making her light up with pleasure like a Christmas tree. She fists her fingers back into Seth’s hair, tugs a little when he gets too rough with his teeth and he mumbles an apology, moves to the other breast to make Kate gasp again, her other leg hooking over his waist so she can press up against him, which makes Seth falter and curse.

“More, angel?” he asks, meeting Kate’s eye, and she nods insistently, holding her breath as Seth scoots back in her embrace a little, flicking the button of her shorts undone before pulling down the zipper, sound of it deafening in the small space.

Seth looks down and then back up at her as he grabs the hem, keeping her gaze the entire time he pulls her shorts down, Kate unwinding her legs from his hips so he can get them all the way off of her, leaving her in just her boots and underwear. She breathes out at the thought, lets her eyes close and then open, seeing Seth stare down between her legs, lick his lips. Cheeks flushing, Kate closes her eyes again, knows she’s wet and he can see, fabric of her underwear thin and soft, making everything obvious, no longer private.

“Fuck,” Seth mumbles, and Kate’s eyes shoot open as she feels him lean down, his hands grabbing her hips and pulling her ass off the seat.

“What are you doing?” Kate asks in a rush, digging her knees into his shoulders to stop him.

“You smell good,” Seth says, and her flush deepens even if it is a compliment, suddenly conscious of her entire body, how the car smells like sweat and musk-– like _sex_. “Wanna taste you, baby girl.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Kate says, the sound is silent, only her lips forming the words.

But then Seth leans down a little closer, kissing up the inside of her thigh, close, really close to her— Kate reaches out before thinking better of it and smacks him in the forehead.

“Ouch!” Seth says, head snapping back.

“Sorry,” Kate says, sheepish. “I just…”

“Nervous?” Seth asks, and she bites her lip, nods. “No one ever eaten you out before?”

“No one’s ever done anything,” Kate says, cringes at the shock she sees in his expression.

“Anything?” Seth asks, astounded.

“ _Anything_ ,” Kate answers.

“Holy shit,” Seth says, sitting back on his haunches, Kate’s leg still up on his shoulder, his hand still around her calf, and the whole image would be kind of funny if Kate weren’t embarrassed out of her mind now with how floundered Seth is by her inexperience. “Was I…” Seth starts, looks down at her and squints. “Was I your first kiss?”

“No!” Kate says, sitting up, flustered.

“Hey, you said you hadn’t done anything!” Seth says, taking his free hand off her hip and holding it up in defense.

Kate wiggles the calf his other hand is holding, gets her leg free and sets it on the floorboard, covering her bare chest with her arm. “I meant I’ve never gone any farther than kissing.”

“Not second base?” Seth asks, looking pointedly at where her arm is.

“Not before tonight,” Kate says.

“Shit,” Seth sighs, rubs a hand over his face. “And you were gonna let me—”

“I still _wanna_ let you,” Kate mumbles, looks up at him shyly and finds he’s just _staring_ at her.

“What if you regret it?” he asks.

“Seth,” she sighs, drops her arm from across her chest to use both of her hands to touch his face. “We’re _married_.”

“Not a minute ago you were hitting me for wanting to go down on you,” he counters, looks between her legs at the reminder and licks his lips again, making Kate hiccup up a giggle, shake her head.

“I just…” she starts. “What if I— what if you don’t like it?”

“Don’t _like_ it?” Seth gapes. “No fucking way. Your pussy tastes half as sweet as your mouth, it’ll be like going to a candy shop.”

“Don’t call it that,” Kate says after he’s said it, nose scrunching up.

“What else should I call it?” Seth laughs.

“I don’t know,” Kate says. “Something not so vulgar.”

“Sweetheart,” Seth smirks, leaning in to kiss her. “There’s nothing not vulgar about anything we’re doing right now.”

“You’re incorrigible,” Kate sighs.

“Don’t mock me in words I don’t understand,” Seth says, kissing her throat and down her chest, beginning to suck at her breasts again.

Kate moans, shakes her head. “Inveterate,” she says.

“Hmm,” Seth answers, kissing down over the top of her tummy, making Kate scoot back up and lean against the door as he pushes her that way, her knees spreading wide to accommodate his shoulders. “Still don’t know.”

“Persistent,” Kate says, breathless as he kisses her hipbones and then her thighs, her entire body on fire.

“There we go,” Seth says, leans in and noses at the wet spot on her underwear, making Kate squeak, try and jump away but his hands lock onto the undersides of her knees, pull her forwards until she’s half-flat on the seat, ass tipped up and her hips level with Seth’s mouth. “After all, I always get what I want.”

“Incorrigible,” Kate says again, shaking her head, trying to be witty but there’s no merit to her voice, just an embarrassed, excited tremor.

Seth hums in answer, leans down and mouths at her through her underwear, and Kate cries out at the press of his tongue against her clit, all the ache in her body centered there, nerve-endings coming alive as he sucks and licks for a few agonizing minutes, Kate’s fingers locking over his where he holds her hips up, rocking on his heels.

“Shit,” Kate breathes after he pulls away, blinking up at the ceiling.

“Like a candy shop,” Seth smirks, smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he sets her down on the seat and sits back, shrugging off his jacket and then grabbing the collar of his t-shirt behind his neck, tugging it up.

“What are you doing?” Kate asks, raising a brow and smiling.

“Too hot,” he answers, tries to pull his t-shirt off the rest of the way but Kate sits up and stops him, making him trapped inside of it. “What the fuck, Kate?” he mumbles from where his face is pressed into the fabric.

“I wanted to do this,” she frowns, grabs the sleeves and pulls the garment off of him, laughing when he just looks at her exasperatedly. She leans in to kiss him, taste of something musky and kind of sweet on his lips that makes her pause for a second before pulling back, looking down at him.

She’s seen Seth without a shirt before— he never wears them when he does yard work around the house, or when he sleeps. And there was that day after the dinner with Carlos, when he found her having a panic attack and held her afterwards, and they almost kissed… Point is, Kate knows what he looks like under his clothes, but something about seeing it now, the defined muscle in his chest and stomach, it makes her giddy, feels like she’s in on a big secret.

Hesitantly, she places her hand on the wrist where his tattoo starts, still really likes it even after all this time. She traces the lines of the flames up to his shoulder, smiling softly when Seth closes his eyes, lets her hand travel down his chest, through the curves of his abs before she stops at the waistband of his jeans, shy, retreating.

She glances up at him through her lashes, a small _help me_ in her gaze and Seth nods, reaches behind himself to pull something out of the back of his pants. Kate blinks when she realizes it’s his revolver, stark reminder of his profession as he sets it down in the driver’s seat for safe keeping before glancing back at her. And even though she’s a little hazy from seeing something so dangerous, she still smiles at him, still wants him and nods. Watches as he reaches down to undo the button at the top of his jeans, the zipper, pushing the denim off his hips. Kate watches through hooded eyes, the way the fabric comes and reveals his boxes, tinted by his erection, looking big and thick and strangely inviting.

Reaching out, Kate hesitates a moment before touching him, grazing the back of her knuckles down his covered arousal, holding back a smile when Seth moans. He reaches out and fists a hand in her hair again, pulls her head up to kiss him and presses her back down into the seat, his body moving up and in between hers.

“Whoa,” Kate says, her legs wiggling against his sides. “This is…”

“Better than sneaking out on a school night,” Seth supplies for her, and she nods, doesn’t really know but agrees all the same as his hand slips down the slope of her belly, fingertips digging through the top of her underwear, over her mound and the short hairs there. Kate tries not to cry out when he touches lower, gathers up the slick wetness along the lines of her slit before touching her clit softly with his thumb, making her curse unintelligibly, head spinning. “You’re so wet for me, baby girl,” Seth says, and his eyes are open but hers are shut.

“I don’t know what to say,” she says, because she doesn’t.

Seth smiles, kind. “You don’t gotta say anything. I just wanna make you feel good.”

His thumb rubs against her again, tight, lazy circles that make her knees pop up like she’s at the doctors and having her reflexes tested. A sob rips from her throat, followed by a hiss as Seth trails his index finger down and slips it up inside of her, slow and easy. It feels strange, but not weird like all the times she’s tried it herself. Where she once felt empty she feels full, especially when Seth presses in a little more, keeps rubbing her clit so the stretch doesn’t burn, just feels lax and good.

“Fuck, _daddy_ ,” Kate says, was using the word before just to humor him, but now it comes out without her even thinking about it.

“Who knew you were such a dirty girl, Katie,” Seth answers her, licking at the side of her mouth, and Kate’s eyes pop open, see him smirking at her and it makes her bold, hand fitting against his sternum, down down, feeling the muscles in his stomach jump right before she reaches into the waistband of his boxers, fingers seeking and firm as she wraps them around his cock.

It feels hot and swollen, and when she drags her hand up she feels wetness on her palm, the head of him leaking. Seth curses, presses a second finger up into her and makes Kate keen, her legs spreading wider around his hips so he can work a better angle, fill her up.

“Like my fingers inside of you, sweetheart?” Seth asks, and Kate nods her head, running her hand back down the length of him, feeling him twitch in her palm. “God, you feel so perfect, angel. Nice and warm and wet— can’t wait to get my cock inside of you, fuck you like crazy, make you come…”

Kate hisses through her teeth as he crooks his fingers into her, pressing up, pleasure shooting down and up and all over. She tries to grip him more firmly, to tug, but it feels dry and sticky from sweat and she takes her hand out of his boxers, glancing up in question.

Seth uses his free hand to grab hers, press it towards her mouth. “Spit,” he tells her, and Kate does, looks back down in time to watch him push his boxers down over his ass, his cock springing free and Kate blinks, has never seen one before outside of porn or anatomy classes. Up close it doesn’t look as strange as she always thought, looks curious and straining, and she wraps her spit-slick hand back around him, biting her lip as Seth mumbles a small, “Jesus Christ,” under his breath, rutting up into her touch.

They play with each other softly for a while, learning the outs and ins, the things that make the other moan. Kate realizes that Seth likes it when she rubs her thumb against the head of him, leans up and bites at his neck, sucking hickies there. Seth learns that Kate likes it when he pumps his fingers inside of her sharply and pulls her hair, making her wet and slippery, desperate to come before he adds a third finger and she cries out, feels so full and so open, body bowing down and then back up.

“Mmm,” Seth says, kissing her after. “That’s it, Katie. Feel good when I fill you up like that?” She nods, trying not to lose her rhythm as she jerks him off, his hips canting steadily into her hand, getting faster and faster because he’s close, she just knows it. “Can’t wait until we’re home,” he says against her ear, biting at the shell of it, making her shiver. “Gonna eat you out for hours— love the taste of you, wanna make you come in my mouth again and again.”

“Seth…” Kate whines, bucks up into his touch and gasps as he switches his thumb for the edge of his palm, rubbing it against her swollen clit and fucking her hard with his fingers, making her see stars. “Oh, fuck, I’m gonna…”

“Me too, baby, me too,” Seth pants, and they both move quicker, frantic to finish.

Seth comes first, letting out a soft groan as Kate angles her hand just right, catches him off-guard and he curses, coming hot and wet up across her wrist, over his stomach and inbetween her thighs, staining the edge of Kate’s underwear sticky-white.

The sight makes Kate swallow dryly, his hands having stilled against her for a moment, but then Seth’s kissing her again, giving everything he’s got, fingers thick and full inside of her, palm pressing where it aches most, and Kate’s entire body goes numb before suddenly everything’s red-hot oblivion, her mouth opening in a silent cry as she breaks apart against his fingers, bouncing up and in, Seth letting her ride it out with soft touches and kisses, telling her how good she is.

“That’s it, baby girl,” he says. “So good— god, you’re fucking beautiful. Fuck.”

Afterwards, they both just lay there, Seth still on top of her in the sticky humidity of the car that smells like sweat and sex as they both just stare out into space.

“We should get up,” Kate says after a couple of minutes, her body starting to come down, and she realizes there’s a bad cramp in her leg, a Charlie-horse in the arm Seth’s laying on.

“Can’t,” Seth mumbles into her shoulder. “Fuck coma.”

“What even _is_ that?” Kate giggles, and Seth looks up at her, a sloppy smile on his face.

“Means you’re fucking amazing,” he says before leaning in to kiss her, lingering and soft, and it makes Kate blush to the tips of her ears.

“The concert’s almost over,” she says, was too preoccupied to hear the music until now, but it’s dying out, the closing set, and pretty soon the parking garage is going to be swarming with people, and here they are, naked and messy, and she just can _not_ handle being poked fun at by some pothead concert goers right now.

“Up,” she says, pushing at Seth’s chest. He sighs teasingly, sits up and lets her do the same, work out all the kinks in her bones before she looks around for her clothes, frowning. “Where’d you throw my shirt?”

“Where’d you throw _mine_?” he counters, already has his boxers pulled back up, never got his jeans off and over his shoes so just has to drag those onto his legs, fasten them in place and crinkle his nose because his underwear are messy and sticky and it feels gross.

Kate feels the same way, shakes her head after finding her shorts and just decides to take her own underwear off all together, settling for trying to put them in her pocket but Seth snatches them away. “Hey—” Kate starts, only to stop as she watches Seth sniff them unabashedly before stuffing them into his own pocket.

“Finders keepers,” he says, smirking.

Kate rolls her eyes, mumbles something that sounds a lot like _pervert_ and puts her shorts on, wincing at the way the denim rubs against her where she still feels a little raw, body fucked open and sated none-the-less. She finds her bra on the floorboard after Seth finds his shirt, wipes all the mess on it and stuffs it under the driver’s seat before settling with just wearing his sweat jacket as Kate grabs her top off the passenger seat and pulls it on.

They both just sit there when finished, reality finally crashing down onto them of what they’ve just done, all the words they spit back and forth beforehand, what it all could mean. Kate glances at him nervously, figures he’s going to have reverted back into his shell, the proverbial, emotionless turtle, but instead she finds Seth looking at her curiously, hand reaching out to drag between the sweaty strands of her hair.

“Did you mean it?” he asks.

“Mean what?” Kate answers.

“That this is more than just a job to you?” And he looks shy when he says it, like a little boy showing their mom a macaroni art project and waiting for approval.

Kate’s demeanor turns soft and she leans in to kiss him sweetly, hugging him after, nails digging into the fabric covering his tattoo. “Of course I meant it,” she giggles. “What, you think I’d do this with you if I didn’t?”

“I don’t know,” Seth whispers. “I figured you’re just settling.”

“Settling for what?” she asks, pulling back to look at him.

“Well, you are stuck with me,” he shrugs.

“Seth,” Kate says, shaking her head. “Please, stop thinking you’re the bad guy, here.”

“But I am.”

“Not really.”

“How do you figure?”

Kate sighs, not exasperated, but frustrated because she isn’t sure how to put it all into words. “I mean, yeah, you’ve done some terrible shit,” she starts, and he winces, but she soothes it by taking his hand in hers, messing with his wedding band idly. “But you’ve been good to me and Scott. You don’t have to do all the things you do, like make us breakfast sometimes, and buy the groceries, and take us to concerts. Just because I have to live with you doesn’t mean you need to be nice to me, but you are.”

“I’m a good actor,” Seth says, shading his eyes.

“No you’re not,” she laughs. “We proved that with the dinner with Carlos.”

Seth grins at her hesitantly, lets it turn into a full-out smile when she kisses him again. “I thought you’d just think of me as an old pervert, if I ever tried this.”

“How long have you been _wanting_ to try this?”

“A while,” he says, shyly almost. “Pretty much since I met you. But it got real bad after the wedding.”

“After we kissed?” Kate asks, and he nods. “So that’s why you were being so weird. You thought I didn’t mean it when I kissed you back.”

“Can you blame me considering the circumstances?” he asks.

Kate shakes her head. “I guess not. But…”

“But?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs. “I mean, I _liked_ it when you kiss me. I _like_ you.”

“I’m a bad man, Kate,” he answers, guilt and conviction and a life full of purposeful bad choices weighing him down heavy into the seat— Kate wonders if they should crack a window, get all of this stale air out and breathe something new.

“So?” Kate asks. “You don’t have to be good, Seth. You just have to regret being bad.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does to me,” she answers. “Before we got married, I, um, I went to confession…”

Seth blinks at her. “I thought you weren’t Catholic?”

“Not that kind of confession,” Kate shrugs. “Just…I talked to a man at a church. I told him what was going on.” For his part, Seth doesn’t seem disturbed, grew up religious for a while and understands church officials can’t tell anyone anything that’s said in the House of the Lord. “He told me something that stuck with me.”

“What’s that?” Seth asks.

“That I can’t make your choices for you. That no one can make anyone’s else choices,” Kate says, smiling in remembrance of Frost and how helpful he’d really been. “He said that if life’s dealt us nothing but a bad hand, and the only way to get out of bad things is to do more bad things, then maybe it’s worth a shot.”

“This guy doesn’t sound very holy,” Seth says.

“He was in the war,” Kate answers. “He knows the world isn’t made of rainbows and sunshine, and that sometimes you can’t always be good and still survive.”

“So basically you’re saying you don’t care that I’m a terrible person?” Seth asks.

“I do _care_ ,” Kate says. “But only in the sense I know that I can’t fix it for you. Those kinds of things, you have to fix yourself.”

“How?” Seth answers.

“First you have to want to,” she says, looking him in the eye and seeing an openness there that shocks her, makes her feel closer to him than even the sex a little bit ago did.

Seth chuckles, reaches out to hold her face gently in his hand. “I’m starting to want to,” he whispers, and he leans in to kiss her again and she lets her eyes slip closed, body open, accepting—

Someone taps on the window and Kate and Seth pull apart like they’ve been struck by lightning, turn to glare at whoever’s interrupted them.

It’s Richie and Scott, of course, their brothers grinning like a couple of idiots.

“You gonna let us in?” Richie asks, voice muffled through the glass.

Seth rolls his eyes, climbs up into the front seat and tucks his revolver into the back of his jeans again before he unlocks the doors. Kate stays in the back while Richie scoots in next to her and Scott takes the passenger seat. “Where’d you guys go?” Scott asks, after getting settled.

Seth starts the car and shrugs, nonchalant where Kate is a nervous mess because _oh fuck,_ if their brothers find out what actually happened, she’s never going to hear the end of it. “Some fuckhead was getting handsy with Kate,” Seth says, choosing to tell the truth because it’s better than a lie. “I punched him out and some rent-a-cops booted us. We’ve been waiting around for your sorry asses since then.”

“Sure,” Richie says, and Kate winces when he sniffs the interior, smirks and looks over at her, licking his teeth. “Gee, Kate, you look _wet_.”

“ _What_?” Kate snaps, eyes wide.

“You’re sweating,” Richie grins, looking blatantly at the hickies on her jaw and neck and shoulders.

“It’s hot,” she snips back, crossing her arms over her chest and swallowing down sandpaper nerves.

“I’m sure it was,” Richie laughs, and something about the way his look lingers between Kate and Seth makes her shiver in anticipation.

 

* * *

 

 

August comes in unbearably sweltering, and, of course, the air conditioning in the house fucking breaks.

“Shit,” Seth says after calling maintenance, hanging up the phone with a scowl.

“What is it?” Kate asks from where she sits next to him on the couch, feet draped over his lap.

“Guy can’t come out until tomorrow to fix the air,” Seth frowns, playing with her toes.

It’s been about two weeks since the concert, and they haven’t gotten a chance to touch like that again. Not even that night when they got home, because Richie was an idiot and let Scott drink some beer at the concert, and the kid got sick after getting back and Kate had to take care of him. Seth fumed about it all night, had wanted to make good on his promise of finally getting the chance to actually eat Kate out right, had to settle for the underwear he stole from her and his own hand; fucking bullshit.

And ever since then Richie or Scott or Carlos or Kate’s job or anything in general is somehow _always_ interrupting, like life has them on a perpetual cock-block. Kate even tried to be bold and sneak into Seth’s room the other night, woke up him with a happy surprise by climbing into his lap in nothing but her sleep shirt. The first thing he did was suck a bruise into her shoulder and when she laughed at him, mumbled that they hadn't even kissed yet he just grinned, said he was mad his marks on her had faded. Kate kissed him hard after that, but right as they got into the middle of actually taking some clothes off, the fucking _dog_ ran in barking and woke up the entire house, and when Scott and Richie came to investigate, Kate had to roll under the bed and Seth had to lie his way out of it all while trying to hide a massive fucking boner.

Goddamn Brando.

They haven’t talked much since the concert either. Like mentioned before, fucking life. Carlos has got Seth and Richie on a tight schedule, making them pull off at least two jobs a week. He calls it _training_ for the big deal come fall, but Seth thinks he’s just giving them a hard time after the whole Ranger Gonzalez I.N.A. questioning incident.

When Seth and Richie _are_ home, Kate usually isn’t. The other girl she works with, Marnie, has been on vacation, meaning only Kate and the owner are around at the café to pick up shifts. When Kate’s not there she’s busy getting Scott ready for his senior year at his new school, off doing teacher meetings and buying school supplies.

Overall, life is a fucking drag and now it’s _hot_ and Seth’s fed up with it.

“Can’t you and Richie fix the air?” Kate asks; she’s chewing on a piece of gum and pops it like a school girl, drawing Seth’s attention to her mouth because _God_ , he wants to kiss her. Wants to pin her back into the couch and fuck her senseless, have her all to himself for just _once_ in a blue fucking moon.

“It’s under the house; I’d rather have heatstroke before encountering the critters down there,” Seth scowls, tracing his finger up her calf, feeling little prickles of hair where she hasn’t shaved for a few days and letting his downtrodden expression turn into a smile.

It still makes him kind of upset that Kate sees herself as a little girl when she looks so grown up to him— still has a lot of growing to do, sure, but she’s soft in all the right places, firm in the others. Has nice legs and good, substantial curves, breasts that fit perfectly in his hands and hair he likes to bury his fingers into. The only thing that makes her look young is her face, and that’s just because it’s round and that tends to make a person look younger no matter how old they are.

Seth only calls her baby girl because she means so much to him, because he wants to protect her and take care of her, not because he’s a fucking pedophile, or anything (maybe just a pervert because he really does like it when she calls him _daddy_ , the way her little mouth shapes and her eyes open wide in want). Because, really, if Kate weren’t so grown up for her age, he probably wouldn’t want her this goddamn bad, but she is and he does, and he’s totally fucked until they get some much needed alone time together.

“You afraid of a little raccoon?” Kate teases, points her foot up and taps his chest.

Seth retaliates by grabbing her leg and lunging forwards with a growl, making Kate squeal as he presses her down into the cushions. “Snakes,” he says, fingers slithering across her exposed ribs in mock example because she’s wearing nothing but her bikini top and shorts, trying to beat the heat. “Don’t care what anyone says— gonna leave the rattlers to the professionals.”

“Okay, okay,” Kate laughs, pushing him off just as Richie clambers into the room. Seth’s going to miss the boot when it comes off in another two weeks only because it’s a good warning indicator.

“What’d the guy say about the air?” Richie asks, and he’s slurping on a Popsicle noisily, spilling red down the sides of his mouth like blood, making Seth annoyed.

“Can’t come out ‘til tomorrow,” Seth says.

“Shit,” Richie sighs, comes to sit next to Kate on the edge of the couch. “Better call Scott and just tell him to stay at Lily’s, then.” Lily is a transfer student from Turkey who Scott met in one of his art classes— she’s a few years older than him but they’ve become quick friends and hang out a lot in their spare time.

“Let Scott stay over at a _girl’s_ house?” Seth smirks.

Kate kicks his thigh. “Oh please, they’re not like that. Besides, Scott and that Derek kid from the concert have been texting a lot, anyways.”

“I thought he was still hung up on Christina from the wedding?” Richie asks.

Kate shakes her head. “She never gave him her number, so the infatuation wore off.”

“Well,” Seth says, shaking his head. “Scott gets to stay cool, then, but what about us?”

“Let’s go to the bar,” Richie suggests.

“What bar?” Kate asks. “Guys, I’m not legal.”

“Don’t have to be to get in here, Sweetheart,” Seth smirks.

“What’s it called?” Kate asks suspiciously, raising a brow in concern.

Seth and Richie share a look. “El Rey,” they say.

 

* * *

 

 

Kate’s never considered herself a dive bar kind of girl, but this place isn’t too bad.

Apparently one of Carlos employees, Big Jim, owns the place, and has no qualms about Kate being here underage. “Any friend of the Geckos drinks for free,” he says when he meets her, wrapping one strong, dark arm around her shoulders cheerfully.

“She’s my _wife_ , Jim,” Seth says, rolling his eyes fondly. “You were at the wedding.”

“Oh, _yeah_ ,” Jim says. “Shit, Seth, didn’t realize you have yourself a regular Miss America. Lucky man.”

They take seats at a booth in back and Seth brings them a round of tequila shots, Kate pulling a face when he sets them in front of her. “I thought the whole point of this was to cool down,” she says.

“Well, now it’s to get drunk, Katie,” Richie says, hugging his arm around her waist. He’s less suffocating than Big Jim, so she lets him leave it there even as Seth hugs her from the other side, boxing her in.

They all take the shots together, gagging them down before Seth signals a waitress to bring them another round. Kate settles with the now familiar warmth in her chest, takes the next three shots like a pro until suddenly her head is fuzzy and someone starts playing Blue Oyster Cult on the jukebox.

“I love this song,” Kate hums.

“You actually _know_ this song?” Seth asks, smiling.

“It’s a classic, Seth,” Richie says. “Everyone knows it.”

“Dance with me,” Kate says, trying to scoot out from between the two of them.

“Which one of us?” they ask in unison.

“I don’t care,” Kate giggles. “Both of you.”

And so they do, grudgingly, just drunk enough to let Kate pull them up by the pool table, swaying to the music like a few of the other couples here. Seth says hi to someone he knows while Kate helps Richie stand without his crutches, takes his hand and moves his arms goofily, Richie frowning at her.

“Come on, spoil sport,” she says.

Richie coughs, moves a little closer to her and puts his hands on her waist and Kate practically purrs at how warm her is, how good her body feels right now. All tingly with sensation, like when Seth was touching her in the car two weeks ago. She wants that again, suddenly, lets out a sigh of relief when Seth presses into her back from behind, his hands going on her hips below Richie’s.

“This is nice,” Kate says, sloping her head back onto Seth’s shoulder. “I like dancing with my boys.”

“ _Your_ boys?” Richie asks, smirking.

“Mm-hm,” Kate says, eyes closed.

They keep moving together for a while, her hips circling against Richie’s and Seth’s. Kate’s buzzed enough that it doesn’t weird her out when they’re both suddenly hard. Instead it makes her feel bold, powerful, two grown, bad men clinging to her for dear life as she moves between them. Seth starts kissing her neck and she hums, ones of Richie’s hands sliding up dangerously close under her breast.

Kate’s just about to open her eyes, tell him to keep going when suddenly a gunshot rings outside of the bar. The Geckos still on either side of her, share a glance over her head before suddenly Richie’s scooping Kate up, rolling with her under the pool table easily despite his bad leg. Seth’s got his gun drawn from nowhere, and Kate watches in slow shock as Richie pulls out his own, kneeling in front of her protectively.

The front door to the bar bangs open, and one of the workers goes to keep whoever was shooting outside back, only to get a shotgun round of rock-salt to the chest for his trouble. Kate covers her mouth to keep from screaming as blood spatters everywhere and the man falls.

Tall, high-heeled snakeskin boots tread in over the guy's twitching body, and everyone holds their breath as Big Jim aims a rifle at the woman walking into the bar. She’s tall and lean, Kate notices. Copper-brown skin and a beautiful figure covered in dark jeans and a low-cut black top. Her hair looks like the moon reflecting off of a dark lake, her lush mouth painted in crimson lipstick. There's another shotgun strapped over her back, and a machete; a revolver holstered under her arm and leg-straps that holds knives into place above her pants. And there’s blood all over her from the man she just shot, and the woman looks like a Goddess, an avenging angel come down for rapture.

“Who the fuck are _you_?” Big Jim asks, finger itching on the trigger.

The woman smiles, sharp teeth like a serpent. “My name is Santanico Pandemonium,” she announces in a strong, sultry voice. “And I am here for  _los hermanos Gecko_.”

 

 

 

 

 


	9. For richer or for shit out of luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't write for shit but this is how it banged out and I'm keeping it because why the fuck not, I like it anyways.

 

* * *

 

Kate blinks, staring at the goddess of a woman with blood on her boots, purpose in her coal black eyes. There’s a certain slant to the woman’s mouth, ferocity, savageness. _Santanico Pandemonium_ , and what pandemonium she has caused.

“…I am here for _los hermanos Gecko_.”

Everything in the bar seems to stop; Big Jim’s finger draws back from the trigger, and he looks around at the other patrons, silent conversations, betrayal. Kate quickly realizes that these people are only your friends when it’s in their convenience to be, and, when it’s not, hook line and sinker, you’re dead.

Seth raises his revolver higher, aim steady, strong. Richie’s hand brackets against Kate’s chest, her black knights, ready to charge head-on into battle. She knows they’re going to do something stupid, make a mess, get blood all over the place like bleach stains on clothes in the washer after you do a load of towels.

Before it can happen, Kate crawls out the back end of the pool table, kicks off Richie’s groping hands. “Why do you want them?” she asks, looks Santanico Pandemonium directly in the eyes and feels her bones seize in fear at what she finds there— timeless power, sheer force of will, a woman who’s been to Hell and back.

For her part, Santanico simply looks at this little woman-girl rising to a challenge, feels something inside of her dead, cold chest stir for the first time in years. Instant connection, women who understand the world’s cruelty. “Look at you, _niña_ ,” she smiles, sharp like a snake-strike. “A Saint Peter among all these Judas Iscariots. How… _charming._ ”

Kate swallows, sandpaper inside her throat, tequila burning in her stomach like a leaden weight, but she isn’t drunk anymore. Almost too sober to function. “Why do you want them?” she repeats.

Everyone in the bar is looking at her, equal measures of anger and respect that she has the nerve to stand up to the grim reaper in the room. Santanico smiles like she knows this, like she’s practiced in the art of counting cards. “Come outside with me, away from this filthy place, and I will tell you.”

“Or you’ll fucking shoot us,” Seth says. In the moments since Kate stood up, he’s slowly gravitated closer to her, putting his body between hers and the barrel of Santanico’s shotgun like a human shield. Richie’s hobbled up to Kate’s flank, gun harder to hold when he’s got his arms looped over crutches, but he seems in a sort of daze anyways, like he doesn’t think any of this is real.

“No, Gecko,” Santanico says, and her smirk is sincere. “Once we walk out of that door, it will be guns down. Until I kill you, anyways.”

“Promising,” Seth sneers.

Kate reaches out for his arm, sets her hand on his tattoo, over his radial where his pulse hammers beneath the skin. He turns to look at her, eyes panicked, by she nods her head. “No one’s going to help us, here,” she whispers. “They’ll just as likely kill us to make her leave.”

Seth scowls, glances around at itchy hands and mean mugs before shaking his head. “Listen, lady,” he says, pointing his gun at Santanico like an extension of his hand. “Pull any stupid shit and I’ll shoot you. Or Richie will. Either way, you’re dead. Got it?”

“Duly noted,” Santanico says, tilts her head, cascade of dark curls over one shoulder where it’s all clipped up messily, yet somehow perfect, like a model or a queen.

Seth nods, takes a minute to breathe before turning to Kate and Richie, motioning them forwards, free hand quick around Kate’s waist, protecting. Richie takes up the rear, scouting, looking for tricks, for a partner outside the doors.

“Nice seeing you, Big Jim,” Seth says before they all exit, Santanico already outside, slithering into the night like a snake, waiting.

“Hope it ain’t the last time, Gecko,” Big Jim says, finger still on the trigger; Kate realizes he’s being kind, but that’s all they’re going to get out of him.

Outside, Santanico’s waiting next to the body of the man she must’ve shot down before entering the bar. He’s alive, like the other one. Chest full of rock-salt, welt on one shoulder from bean-bag ammunition. Richie measures up the wounds calculatingly, brows drawing up, and Kate takes his head, brings him into the waking world.

“You’re a bounty hunter,” Richie says, looking at Santanico where she’s waiting for them at the lip of an alley on the west side of the bar.

She smirks, lipstick tar-stuck and red. “Not the kind you are thinking of, darling.”

“Narciso,” Seth says, and Kate looks up at him, startled. Remembers the name, the warring cartel, the man in charge of the people who were chasing the Gecko brothers when Richie fell and hurt his leg.

“Ding, ding, ding,” Santanico chuckles. “We have a winner.”

The four of them move into the pit of the alley when someone jostles out of the bar door to grab the unconscious man on the ground, drag him in for a botched recovery of whiskey and sugar and limes. Kate watches with interest, body still numb enough she isn’t really letting herself process all of this, just looking at the bloodstains on the sidewalk as if she’s watching a murder menagerie television program, the kind her momma loved when she was still alive.

“So, what?” Seth says when they’re all stopped, when he and Richie have assessed and figured out Santanico’s come alone, no one here to trick them, shoot them, maim them beyond any kind of recognition. “Narciso mad we fucked up his deal down in Monterrey?”

“Something like that,” Santanico says, but she’s looking at Kate again, mouth slightly open, equations running around in her head. “He said nothing about there being a girl with you, though? Who are you, _niña_?”

“My name is Kate,” Kate answers, fingers feeling sticky with anxious sweat, body compensating for what her mind can’t. Santanico’s still got a shotgun at her side, countless other weapons. Richie and Seth still have their guns in shaking hands.

“Did you just meet the Geckos tonight?” Santanico asks, makes a _tsk_ ing sound in her throat like a coddling mother; Kate realizes immediately that that is why she feels so drawn to Santanico-- she reminds her of her mom, in some ways. Broken, nurturing. But stronger, more apt for sex and violence. “Should get out while you still can, sweetheart. Run far and fast while I make mincemeat out of big, bad men.”

Kate’s mouth pinches, her insides stirring up with anger. Mother or not, Santanico's just crossed a line. Because, really, how many people is Kate going to meet in her life that call Richie and Seth bad men? Judge them before they really know, before they really _see_? How many people are going to come in, guns blazing, and not listen to what Kate has to say about her family?

In the past few months she’s learned that words are inconsequential in this disturbed, convoluted world Seth and Richie live in, and, quite frankly, it’s _pissing her the fuck off_.

“These bad men are my husband and my brother-in-law, actually,” Kate says, smirks when she watches Santanico’s face gape in shock.

“One of you is _married_?” Santanico asks, taking a step back, heels clicking on concrete.

“That’d be me,” Seth says, holds his shooting hand up, revolver still a threat. “Me and Katie here got hitched about, what, two months ago now, honey?”

“Two months and three days,” Richie says, automatic.

Santanico blinks, easy strategy and plans tumbling down, turning to malice. “What did you do to the poor girl to make her marry a bastard like you?”

“Nothing,” Kate says, sees this as their open, as their bargaining chip. She scoots closer to Seth, leaning into his side, and his protective grip on her is reflex. “Seth and I love each other. We got married. Is that hard to believe?”

“But you…” Santanico says, stops, amends. She looks at Kate for a long while, emotionless, before, finally, a slow, sadistic smile curves at her lush red lips. “How much are they paying you, _niña_?”

Kate falters, wasn’t expecting her to know, words turning to ash in her throat.

“Whatever it is,” Santanico says. “I can double it.”

Both Richie and Seth freeze up at that, and it makes Kate a little sad, that they think she’s willing to betray them so easily. For _money_ , of all things. What they don’t seem to get is this stopped being about the money a long time ago. Maybe this all started because of that, but it’s about family, now. About the little one they’ve put together, broken but still good. Kate and Scott used to love Lilo and Stitch when they were little, and she thinks that they do the movie proud, their big blue house full of miscreants and rejects, orphans and faithless worshipers.

“I don’t want your money,” Kate says, ignores Seth’s sigh of relief, stands her ground when Santanico’s confidence wavers at the reply. “I want Seth and Richie _safe_.”

She feels Richie’s palm cup her shoulder then; Seth’s silent resolve next to her. She knows they’d do anything to protect her, including give themselves up right now. And Kate doesn’t understand how this has all happened so fast, how they’ve somehow managed to get inside of each other so deep, make a home there where it’s loving and warm. Maybe it’s because they’ve all been shaped by tragedy, because they’ve all been alone and rejected and afraid. Maybe it’s because they _understand_.

“I can’t do that, Kate,” Santanico says after a long moment, body uncurling like a snake. She reaches for her hip and Seth raises his gun, twists suspiciously before Santanico pulls out a notebook from her back pocket, flips to a page scribbled over in messy Spanish, clearly a male’s writing. “Five million apiece for your skulls on a silver platter at Narciso’s dining room table by Dia d _e los Muertos_ ,” she says, nodding her head between Seth and Richie. “That’s enough for me to retire on. Too good a chance to pass up.”

“Then why aren’t you taking it?” Richie asks, and he’s talking to her like he’s a little kid talking to his pretty teacher in school, infatuated, respectful.

Santanico barks out a laugh, puts the notebook away, steps up, reaches out a hand, and when Seth goes to slap it away, Kate holds him at bay. She knows who Santanico is reaching for, and she takes the woman’s fingers in her own, lets Santanico lace their digits together, brown sugar on cream, red talons overlapping blunt pink nails.

“The world can be so cruel to innocent little girls,” she says, holding Kate’s gaze, and Kate wonders, maybe, if she hadn’t had four shots, wasn't in a state of shock, if this would be weird then. Right now it just makes sense and she smiles sadly. Santanico mirrors the expression, glances over at Richie and Seth with something less sympathetic, more irate. “I wouldn’t take a wife’s husband from her. I am not a widow maker. I am simply a killer of bad men. But you, you two must not be all bad to have a girl like this sticking up for your sorry asses.”

“We really don’t know what she sees in us,” Richie says, bad at social cues— Seth elbows him in the ribs and he grunts, just as Santanico steps away from Kate, leaves her fingers pulsing with electricity.

“Neither do I,” Santanico coos, makes a little pouty motion with her mouth that is quite inviting. She shakes it off, straps her shotgun over her back with the other one and the machete, and finally, _finally_ Seth and Richie put their guns down. “I’ll tell you what,” Santanico says, looking like Lilith in the garden, the sister to Kate’s Eve. “Why don’t we make a deal?”

“I thought you’ve already got one with Narciso?” Seth snarks, and Kate rolls her eyes at him, the cocky bastard.

“It is pending,” Santanico shrugs, inspects her nails like she’s suddenly very bored with the Gecko brothers’ little boys in a schoolyard fight routine. “I have another four months to kill you. _But_.”

“But?” Richie prompts.

Santanico smirks, drops her hand down to her side and rests her weight on one foot, fist on her hip. “If you two can give me your worth plus an extra million each, I’ll let you go.”

“ _Twelve million **dollars**_?!” Seth shouts, face going redder than it’s already been the whole time, all his bottled up anger breaking out. “What the fuck? You think we’re made of money?”

“No,” Santanico says. “But the man you work for is.”

“Carlos?” Kate asks, and Santanico nods, not patronizing, simply fond and amused.

“I’m sure you could get it from him,” Santanico says.

“Like he’d let us live,” Seth snorts. “Trade one death dealer for another? Gee, lady, how very helpful.”

“It is simply the deal I am offering,” Santanico says, licks her teeth, hungry. “I will give you four months to come up with the money, and, if you do not have it, _then_ I will kill you.”

“I thought you weren’t a widow maker?” Richie asks.

Santanico snickers, reaches out in the small space between her and Kate to drag her fingers down Kate’s cheek, intimate, making Kate blush and step back. “She wouldn’t be a widow for long, if I were to take care of her.”

“Now wait just a goddamn minute—” Seth starts, steps up, raises his gun, but Kate holds him down, doesn’t want a shootout, one she suddenly knows the Geckos would not win.

“We’ll take the deal,” she says.

“ _Kate_ ,” Seth hisses.

“We’ll take it,” she reaffirms.

“Listen to your wife, Seth,” Santanico says, looking like a very happy snake, belly full of squeaking mice. “The woman always gets to decide these kinds of things.”

And then she turns, flits away on wiry heels and walks without a care in the world, back turned to two men with loaded guns, but she isn’t afraid. “Four months, Geckos,” she calls over her shoulder. “Make a plan.” She’s gone in the blink of an eye, disappears into the night like she was never there at all.

Kate gapes in amazement, this whole thing having felt like some religious experience, jarring and strange and leaving her chest fuzzy. She turns around and finds that Richie looks the same, but Seth, Seth is _livid_.

“Do you know what you just _did_?!” he yells violently, and Kate reels back in surprise, didn't expect him to be so cruel. “You just bargained our lives away!”

“She saved us, Seth,” Richie tries to butt in.

“Shut up, Richard!” Seth screams, wheeling on his brother, shaking his gun like a fist. “What do you think’s gonna happen now, huh? We _had_ her. We could’ve killed her if Kate wasn’t standing there in the middle, lost in all that charm. And now she’s gone, and if we don’t get that money, she’s gonna slit our throats in our sleep and whisk _my_ wife off to paradise as her new lesbian lover. What the _fuck_?”

“But what if we _do_ get the money?” Kate asks, her voice small, the shock finally settling in, all of Seth’s words bone-deep, like some bad dream. She feels like she was an actress playing out a script, had no control over herself, though it made sense in the moment.

Maybe she’s just really drunk, and now she wants to cry, because Seth is being _mean_ , and she doesn’t like it.

“Are you _kidding me_ , Katelyn?” he asks, sounds like a father chastising a child and Kate doesn’t want to cry anymore, suddenly, she wants to _hit_ him.

“Why couldn’t we do it?” she snaps, gets up in his face, ready to go toe-to-toe with leftover adrenaline. “You and Richie fuck people over for a living, why not Carlos too?!”

“Because he’ll fucking _catch us_ and _kill us_.” Seth turns and spits, like the idea leaves a foul taste in his mouth, or maybe like he’s marking his territory, acting like a bullheaded _man_ and Kate’s beyond annoyed.

“ _Ugh_!” she snarls, throws her hands up in the air and spins away from him. Crosses her arms over her chest like a barrier, walks away.

“Where the fuck you going?” Seth calls from behind, but he’s not the one coming after her, Richie is— trying to catch up but Kate’s walking too fast.

“Home!” Kate screams, pace picking up so neither of the brothers can stop her.

“It’s dangerous!” Richie says. “Kate, stop. Come on. Get in the car.”

“I’ll take a bus, thank you,” Kate says, and both of the brothers are too exasperated to stop her.

 _What a way to beat the heat,_ Kate thinks, entire body cold from the confrontation with Santanico, from the new trouble she’s gotten them into, from the argument with Seth. _Fucking El Rey my ass._

 

* * *

 

Seth hears a creak in the hall, his door sliding open.

He jolts awake in bed, hand on his gun where it sits on the nightstand. Thinks it’s Santanico, nightmares of the terrifying woman rolling around in his head. He turns when the door’s open all the way, revolver aimed— only to sigh in relief when he sees it’s Kate standing there looking shy, dressed in nothing but a t-shirt and her underwear.

After the argument in the alley, Kate stomping off, Seth turned to the side and vomited. Fear and adrenaline retching out of his system. Richie rubbed his back while trying to call Kate’s cell phone but she wouldn’t pick up.

“You didn’t have to be so hard on her,” Richie said.

“What else was I supposed to do, Richie?” Seth asked, felt like shit, entire body worn out, broken down. “She has no idea what she just got us into.”

“I think she does,” Richie said. “I think we can pull it off.”

“Go up against _Carlos_?” Seth asked, standing up and wiping a hand over his mouth, throat burning. “You forgetting who he fucking is? That he _killed_ Uncle Eddie so he could get the business all to himself?”

“He let us live,” Richie shrugged.

“To avoid suspicion,” Seth scowled, leaning back against the brick wall behind him, motioning at Richie to give him a cigarette.

“Think that’s a good idea? You might puke again.”

“Fuck you. I just got my life threatened for about the tenth time this month and had a fight with my wife. Indulge me.”

He and Richie smoked silently for a few minutes after that, staring down the alley where Santanico had disappeared, twitchy, waiting for her to come back, cancel out her words and get her cash in the form of their corpses.

“You think Kate’s okay?” Richie asked.

“She’s fine,” Seth sighed. “Spitfire who can handle herself. She proved that well enough tonight, don’t you think?”

“But Santanico…”

“Has a crush on her and wouldn’t touch a hair on her head unless she was trying to put the moves on her,” Seth said, feeling creeped out, weirded out that Kate seemed to mirror that infatuation. It was like when the two women were looking at each other the whole world fell away, and maybe that’s a girl thing, or maybe it’s just fucked up like everything else in his life right now.

“You’re still worried about her,” Richie accused.

“I’m _always_ worried,” Seth said, blowing out smoke irately. “It doesn’t make any fucking sense, Richie. Why didn’t she take the money? Run while she had the chance? I bet that bitch could’ve hidden her and Scott real good with ten-mill. I’ve never heard of her, which means Carlos hasn’t, which means Kate could’ve gotten out.”

Richie rolled his eyes, which kind of pissed Seth off because it made him feel stupid, like he was the tail end of a joke but he said nothing, just tossed his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out before starting to move towards the street, over to the car. They needed to make it home before Kate, wait for her to get there, safe.

“You’re not getting it, are you?” Richie asked as he slid into the passenger seat after throwing his crutches in the back.

“Getting what?” Seth asked.

Richie shook his head. “You still think she’s settling, even _after_ what happened at the concert.”

“How the fuck did you—” Seth started, but Richie cut in over him.

“I pick up on things, Seth. Remember? Anyways, she didn’t let you fuck her in the backseat of the car just because she randomly felt like it. Kate’s not that kind of person. She’s too inexperienced and shy to do that kind of thing if she didn’t really want to do it because she wanted _you_.” Richie shrugged, like his speech made sense.

It was Seth’s turn to roll his eyes. “We didn’t fuck, Richie. All I did was touch her. Handsies don't mean shit.”

“But she touched _you_ , too.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Means she wanted you to feel good, too, Seth. Don’t you get that? Don’t you get that she’s happy?” Richie asked, and he looked so surprised that Seth wasn’t in on his stupid musings.

“I’m a piece of shit, Richie,” Seth muttered. “Sooner or later she’s gonna realize that and run.”

“No she’s not.”

“Yes she is.”

“Fucking _blind_ idiot.”

“Shut the fuck up, Richie.”

They spent the rest of the drive home in silence, got there ten minutes before Kate who walked through the front door and straight up to her room. Seth heard her door slam shut, whole house shaking, Brando whining under Richie’s propped up leg.

And Seth just looked over at his brother, raising a smug brow.

“So she’s fucking mad,” Richie snorted. “You’re a dick sometimes. It happens.”

Seth didn’t think his brother was right. He figured that tonight had been the last straw in the metaphorical haystack, that he’d wake up in the morning and Kate would be gone. No note, nothing. Wouldn’t care if it’d get him and Richie killed— they’ve fucked her over enough it’d be justified anyways. Just take Scott and go, save herself, get out of all of this.

Because no matter how much Seth wants her to stay, he’s come to realize he cares about her enough he’d let her go, if that’s what she wants.

But, then, here she is, standing in the doorway illuminated in moonlight, looking like an angel. He stares at her softly, sets his gun back on the nightstand and motions for her to join him on the bed. She does, closes the door slightly behind herself before pulling the covers back, leaving some space between them as she climbs in. Seth breaks the gap, slips a hand around her waist and pulls her into his lap.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers into his chest, and he can tell she’s been crying, her throat dry, words scratched.

“It’s okay, baby girl,” he whispers.

She shakes her head, pulls away to look up at him. “No, it’s not. I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have agreed to what she said but…but I knew if you tried to kill her, she’d kill you first. And I don’t want you to die, Seth.”

“Maybe it’d be better for everyone if I did,” he answers, but he’s not looking at her.

“Don’t _say_ that,” she hisses, digs her nails into his chin and makes him meet her eye. “I _need_ you, Seth,” she whispers, and his heart shatters, repieces back together with an emotion he doesn’t have the words for.

“Kate…” he says, wants to make her take it back, wants to make her see how horrible he is, how much danger he puts her in.

She shakes her head, not willing to listen. “Don’t start,” she says. “Just kiss me.”

He does, because he can’t deny her anything. Grabs a handful of her hair and presses his mouth against hers, deepens the kiss when she gasps out his name.

It happens fast after that, her hands reaching for the tie on his pajama bottoms, his hands lifting her t-shirt up and off. They come back together with a clash of teeth and tongue, nearly naked, all warm, soft skin beneath him as he rolls her onto her back, presses down into her and can feel the damp hotness between her legs against his cock, already achingly hard just from the scent of her, from the way she’s crying out softly as he bites at her throat, bruising, trying to root her into place, trying to leave a mark like it’ll make it true that she’s really his.

“I’m fucking terrified,” he says, words slipping out before he can stop them. “You’re gonna leave, Kate. I know you are.”

“No, I’m not,” she says, breathless. “I’m right here, Seth. I’m right here.”

He groans, cups her little breasts in his hands, squeezing, soft, before running his hands down her sides, feeling every inch of her. He kisses down, down to the dip of her sternum, over the slope of her belly, tickling her with little nips of his teeth, knows she’s insecure here but he needs her to see that she’s beautiful, that she’s good and sweet and kind and he’s ruining her. But he can’t stop, a faithless man worshiping at the altar between her legs as he slides lower, mouthing at her through her panties, tasting wet and warm and sweet as her fingers dig into his hair and she cries out his name.

“Shh,” he whispers, smiles up at her. “Richie’s _sleeping_ , Kate. Don’t wake him up.”

“Smug bastard,” Kate whispers back, but she’s laughing, thighs hitching up over his shoulders as he spreads her knees apart.

“If you’re not quiet,” he says back, teasing, her good humor infectious. “I’ll stop.”

Kate rolls her eyes, makes a motion like she’s zipping her lips and throws away the key. Seth chuckles, looks back down between her thighs, pink cotton of her panties damp, and she smells musky, aroused, sweet like fresh fruit and cream. He licks his lips, grinds himself down into the bed when his cock throbs at the little hitch of her breath when he begins to slide her underwear down, letting them tangle around one of her ankles.

When she’s bear to his eye she blushes, tries to close her legs but he holds them open and takes his sweet time looking at her. Rosy, swollen pink and dripping wet, an all you can eat buffet. He must say as much out loud because suddenly she’s laughing again, not silently but loud, covering a hand over her mouth when he glares up at her, turns to bite her thigh, suck a bruise in the shape of his mouth there and she yelps.

“What did I say, sweetheart?” he asks. Kate shakes her head, swallowing heavily, toes curling against his shoulder blades. “You’re being a very bad girl, Katie. Maybe I should punish you.”

“What does punishing me entail?” she asks, secret smirk behind her eyes— she’s getting more bold by the second, body twitching, hips circling towards Seth’s mouth and he ruts down into the bed again, stifles his moan with a scowl.

“Spanking,” he says.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, _daddy_?” Kate asks, and it makes his dick twitch, and he feels wet and sloppy against the comforter, about to come just like that, like some shy preteen being touched by a girl for the first time.

“So would you,” he says, kissing a steady trail over her hips, smiling when she takes in a sharp breath. “But you’d like _this_ more.”

He touches his tongue to her clit then, softly, smirks at the way she tries to hold back a moan, body bucking off the bed. He holds her down, circles his tongue a little and makes her curse under her breath. He stops, looks up at her, but she’s staring at the ceiling, shaking her head, doesn’t know how to control it. Composure crumbling down, wild and free for once.

She’s fucking beautiful.

Leaning back in, he slowly licks at her opening, moans against her when her body clenches around his tongue. She tastes primal, heady and sweet like ripe cherries, waiting to be popped. He takes his time mouthing at her, gets a little more urgent when she fists her hands into his hair again, pushing him forwards, finding a steady rhythm as she starts grinding down against her face, finding her own pleasure, and it’s the sexiest thing he’s ever seen.

“Fuck, baby girl,” he says, touches her clit with his thumb and laughs when she grinds her teeth, trying not to make a sound. “I fucking love the way you taste. Could do this for _hours_.”

“ _Please_ ,” Kate simply says, a small whisper of omission.

“Please what, Kate?” Seth asks, sliding his finger down and pressing into her, grinding himself into the bed when she covers a moan with her hand again, biting at the fleshy part of her palm. She feels hot and tight around the tip of his index and he coaxes her open a little more so he can get all the way inside, thrust slowly, making her keen. “Like when I touch like this, angel? Like it when I fuck you with my fingers?” He adds a second one for good measure, feels her clench and stretch, and _God_ , it’s going to feel like heaven when he finally gets to fuck her.

“Mmmm,” Kate mumbles, panting when he leans back down to suck at her, licking in and around his fingers before adding a third, filling her up. “Oh, _fuck_.”

Seth chuckles, pulls away to lick a damp strip from the top of her pussy to her navel, dip inside and make her squeak because she’s ticklish. “You have such a dirty mouth, Katie. Can’t wait to feel it on my cock, have you suck me off. I bet you’d be good at it. Be you’d like it, swallow every drop like a good little girl.”

When he looks up her eyes are wide, lip tucked between her teeth and he presses his fingers into her more firm, cock scraping against the bed, leaking onto the sheets now that the comforter’s fallen of the edge from the way Kate’s been kicking at it, reflexes sporadic every time he licks at her clit and she cries out in pleasure.

“Would _you_ like that, daddy?” Kate asks, and she’s being shy, but he can also tell she actually _likes_ the idea, letting go of her lower lip to lick it, and he curses, fucks her sloppily with his fingers, wet and slick, sounds obscene but it’s just making him tumble faster towards the finish line, heart beating in his throat, blood hot, heat coiling low in his stomach, desperate to be inside of her, desperate for release.

“Yes, baby,” Seth says, kissing back down towards her pussy, licking at it and making her hips twitch, heels digging into her shoulders. “But tonight, I wanna make you come like this. Wanna fuck you good and right until you’re screaming.”

“I thought I was supposed to be quiet?”

He laughs, kisses at her thighs and holds her gaze. “Aren’t you a little back-talker.”

Kate smirks. “I learned from the best.”

Seth rolls his eyes, humored, leans down to lick at her again, feels her clench against his fingers, hips more desperate in their tempo. He can tell she’s close, and he’s close, too. Just watching her so blissed out, high on pleasure, it’s getting him off. She looks like a fucking waking wet dream, all spread out, hair fanned on the pillows, eyes lit-up and lips kiss-swollen. Neck all marked up from his teeth, breasts bouncing as she fucks herself against his mouth, her legs wide open, knees apart. She’s so fucking wet and tastes like wine in an altar cup— not the cheap stuff either, but the expensive kind, priceless.

She’s absolution, absolving him of all his sins.

When she comes he feels it, sloppy and warm, hears her cry out softly into the pillows, her entire body hitching tight as she rises up, and he laps at her more desperately, works his fingers in and out until she’s coming again, can’t make heads or tails of it and she’s sobbing, shaking, she says his _name_ and that’s it, game over; he comes without her even touching him, makes a mess all over the sheets and moans into her, still bringing her down, licking softly, trying to keep her on the edge of it for as long as he can, trying to make her stay.

Afterwards, he crawls up her body with kisses, mouth still messy from her climax as he kisses her lips. She kisses him back, tongue in his mouth and he groans, holds her close as the kisses taper off, less desperate, softer, kinder.

She folds up in his arms and lays her head on his chest, and he plays with her wedding band, starting to fall asleep when he hears her say, “I’m not leaving, Seth.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Kate,” he whispers, and she looks at him, sad, but she says nothing, and she doesn’t leave, stays curled up in his side and he holds her desperately, not wanting to let go.

Both of them are so wrapped up in each other they don’t hear the bedroom door shutting all the way, Richie limping slowly down the hall to his own room, hand slick with release and a smile on his face, content.

 

* * *

 

 

“Rob _Carlos_?”

“Did I fucking stutter, kid?”

Scott looks at Seth like he’s an idiot and, hell, Seth _is_ an idiot, but not about this. Richie watches them bemusedly over the Sunday morning paper while they all sit at their fucked-up kitchen table eating breakfast, Kate munching on toast, fresh purple marks on her neck she’s not even bothering to cover.

Richie woke her and Seth up this morning, and neither of them were embarrassed about being caught in bed together, just embarrassed they were naked, Seth throwing a book off the nightstand at Richie’s head and telling him to leave, but Kate ended up laughing and Richie smiled, the two people he loves the most in the world content and together, looking at him like he belonged there with them, too, and he knows it’s only a matter of time.

“But, _Carlos_?” Scott asks, expression terrified.

“He’s got the money,” Kate shrugs, giving her crusts to Brando who’s eagerly awaiting the treat beneath the table. “And he's a fucking bastard. So why not?”

“Um,” Scott says, eyes wide. “Because he’ll fucking _kill us_?!”

“It’s either risk him or Santanico,” Richie shrugs, sets the paper down and tries his coffee again, smiling when it doesn’t burn his tongue this time like it did the last. Kate had warned him it was hot, but she'd gotten this new creamer at the store, scent of it reminding him or horchata and he couldn't wait. Well, until it felt like pouring lava down his throat, anyways. “And between the two, I’d take my chances with Carlos.”

“Ah, come on,” Scott says. “She couldn’t have been _that_ scary?”

Seth snorts, shakes his head and stretches his arms above his head— he’s not wearing a shirt and when he does that it shows a hickey on his collar, one Kate must’ve left there last night when they were fucking. Richie smirks, missed that part, but he was there for the end and that’s all that really matters.

“Kid,” Seth says, shaking his head. “I’ve went up against guys who are bigger than the fucking Terminator like it was nothing, but this Pandemonium woman, she put the fucking fear of _God_ into me.”

“Sure you weren’t just freaked out because she hit on Kate?” Richie asks, makes Kate hiccup on a sip of orange juice, choking it down and grimacing.

“What?” Scott asks, looks over at his sister with a shit-eating grin. “Fucking _no_. _Way_.”

Kate shrugs, dabs at her mouth with a napkin shakily. “She was actually kind of…nice to me.”

“Because she wants in your pants,” Seth scoffs.

“Looks who’s talking,” Scott fires back, and everyone around the table blinks, looks at him. “Oh, please,” he says, rolling his eyes. “Think I don’t notice the love bites? Jesus, Kate, who else would it be?”

“Maybe it was Richie,” Kate snaps.

“I wouldn’t be complaining,” Richie answers.

“ _Hey_!” Scott frowns. “Stop talking about my sister like that. Gross.”

“You’re the one who brought it up,” Seth says, rolling his eyes.

“It’s one thing to guess, another thing to hear about. Ew.” Scott wrinkles his nose, looks a lot like his age and Richie laughs, throws a synthetic blueberry crumb from his breakfast muffin at Scott’s head. Scott dodges it and scowls, Brando happily licking the floor for the morsel until the linoleum's shiny clean.

“Oh please,” Richie says. “You slept over at a girl’s house last night.”

“Whatever,” Scott scoffs, but he doesn’t deny the implications, which makes Richie raise a brow curiously, wonder if Bruce Lee is hiding a little tryst or something— Richie would be proud of the kid if he is, being all teen angst and rebellion. It’s good Scott gets a little of that in, what Kate wants, so Richie wants it too.

“Okay, okay, _children_ ,” Kate says, rolling her eyes. “We were discussing the big heist, remember?”

“You mean our imminent execution?” Scott asks.

“Not necessarily,” Seth pipes up, and everyone at the table turns to look at him, shocked. He was the one so very against the idea initially, but now he seems cool, calm, collected. Richie knew getting laid would calm his brother down a little. “I’ve been thinking…”

“That’s never good,” Richie jokes.

His brother rolls his eyes. “Santanico said we have four months right? Right. And guess what else is in four months?”

Richie blinks, trying to come up with the answer, neurons firing before suddenly he _gets_ it and laughs, low and deep. “You sneaky bastard!”

“What?” Kate and Scott ask in unison.

“The big deal,” Richie says. “Thirty million dollars. Enough to pay off Santanico and get the hell out after. Are you really saying what I think you’re saying, brother?”

Seth’s smile is easy, laid back as he shrugs and folds his hand behind his head. “Who better to con man than a con man himself?”

“We’re gonna need help,” Richie says, already coming up with ideas and plans. He's always been the blue-printer of the two of them, liked working on puzzle mazes when he was young, a goddamn prodigy at them, really.

Seth nods, careless expression faltering. “That, I know…”

“What?” Kate asks at his downtrodden expression, and Richie looks at his brother, realizes that hesitance on Scott’s face. He remembers it from three years ago.

“Oh shit,” Richie says.

“What?” Scott asks.

“You’re not gonna like the prime choice, Kate,” Richie laughs, but he’s not laughing because it’s funny, rather because he thinks that maybe this whole plan _is_ stupid, because if Santanico or Carlos don’t kill them, then the person they need to help them pull off the job will.

“Who is it?” Kate asks, looking confused, spoon half-dug into the chunk of grapefruit on her plate.

Seth rubs a hand at the back of her head. “My ex-wife, Vanessa,” he mutters, doesn’t have enough time to dodge it when Kate’s spoon goes flying at his head

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	10. To love and to hit in the head with fine China.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real quick just wanted to thank everyone for your support so far! I often doubt myself when writing this even though I love writing it, because I'm always just, "Is this canon? Would the characters be like this in this specific situation???" But you all help me keep going and I can't thank you enough!

* * *

 

 

Seth met Vanessa Styles at a bar in Saltillo three years ago when he was on a solo job trying to smuggle ten pounds of coke over the border.

He’d just gotten done meeting with the dealer Carlos had bargained for the exchange with and needed a drink. Walked into the closest tavern available, strode up to the counter and ordered three shots of tequila. Downed them like water, the burn and numb of it doing nothing to calm his nerves. He hadn’t done a job without Richie before this, but Carlos wanted to test the brothers, see if they could bring their A-game separately. So far Seth was doing fine, but getting over the border without Richie there to back him up? It sounded like a nightmare.

“You look like you’ve had a hard day.”

Seth blinked, signaled for another shot before turning to look at the woman who’d sidled up next to him with easy, breezy confidence. She was obviously American by the accent, body straight out of a Buck Cherry song. All long legs, round hips, perfect breasts pushed up high in a low-cut top. Her smile was inviting, eyes beautiful, and her hair looked like liquid velvet, curling around her shoulders in dark waves. Seth's always had a thing for dark-haired women and was instantly attracted to her; how couldn't he be?

“You could say so,” Seth answered, and it’d been a long time since he had been nervous around a woman, but this one— she was sexy and sure and looking for more than a bed warmer. She was talking to him on purpose, for a reason. He swallowed down the excited jitters her gaze inspired with another shot.

The woman’s smile widened; she flipped her hair like a Cover Girl model and signaled the bartender for a beer before taking the stool next to Seth’s without an invitation, knew she didn’t need one anyways. “You know, it’s pretty dumb of you to get trashed on the job,” she said, and she was smirking, even when Seth gaped at her in shock and suspicion.

“And how’d you know I’m on a job?” he asked, eyeing her, looking for a gun— spotted it in her back waistband, a 9x19 semi-automatic that he could somehow tell this woman knew how to use.

She smiled again, perfect white teeth as she slapped a badge down next to his hand.

_Vanessa Styles, D.E.A._

Seth reeled back in shock, hand reaching for the revolver in his own waistband, but the woman— _Vanessa_ , caught his wrist, shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she said, glancing around the room steadily. “Wouldn’t want to cause a scene, Seth.”

“What the fuck?” Seth answered her, eyes wide.

“Don’t worry,” Vanessa said, nails digging into his skin. “I’m a friend.”

“Like hell,” he said, shaking his head.

She shrugged, let him go and thanked the bartender in perfect Spanish as the man gave her the beer she’d ordered. After a long sip, she turned back to look at Seth, measured, beautiful. “I used to work for your uncle Eddie,” she said.

A nerve in Seth’s jaw ticked, his fingers itching for a weapon, feet ready to run. “Did you now?”

Vanessa nodded, took another swig out of her drink before slamming the bottle back onto the counter carelessly. “I told you, I’m a friend. I ain’t gonna let Eddie’s nephew get caught.”

“Says the woman who works for the D.E.A.,” Seth said, slanting his eyes at her, trying to be tough.

She laughed. “Eddie and I had a deal, see. He and my dad were friends. My dad got killed on the job. Eddie took care of me up until college. I got into the government, but as a personal favor to him, I left his and Carlos’ division of crime alone. Help out sometimes, if the pay is good.”

“Ain’t that sweet of you,” Seth snorted, shook his head and stood; Vanessa stood with him. “Thought you said you weren’t gonna let me get caught?”

“I’m not,” Vanessa grinned. “Carlos sent me to help you get over the border without fucking up for a good cut your check. He realized you’re probably not all that ready to do this on your own, not like Richie.”

“Carlos can fuck off,” Seth snapped, backing away from Vanessa slowly. “I’m _fine_.”

“The dealer you just took your cargo from got busted not twenty minutes after you left,” Vanessa said, tilting her head at him with a smug look. “If not for me, the rest of my team would be tracking your sorry ass down right now from the surveillance tapes we hid in the guy’s warehouse. Luckily, I destroyed those. You don’t exist to them, Seth.”

Seth stopped moving, really tried to measure this woman up, see what she was playing at. He found no tricks, no lies. Instead he just saw her standing there, looking beautiful and dangerous. And he tried to reason maybe she _was_ on his side— it wouldn’t be the first time there was a mole in the D.E.A., or any sect of the government for that matter. And Vanessa, she’d blend in perfectly. Looked like something out of a detective show, strong and confident and perfect at batting her lashes innocently; no one would ever have a clue she was the enemy.

“So, what, you gonna ride with me over the border, now?” Seth asked.

Vanessa grinned. “Sure am.”

After that it was kind of just history. Vanessa was four years older than Seth, more experienced, ready to take the world by storm. She was outgoing and badass and gorgeous, the best sex he’d ever had in his life. It took them less than six weeks to head to Vegas and get married, and of course Carlos approved, because Vanessa was his inside girl.

Not that he knew Vanessa hates him as much as Seth and Richie do.

“I’m getting tired of it,” she told Seth one night after their two-month anniversary, both of them lying in bed together, watching _Gone with the Wind_ , Vanessa's favorite.

They’d just gotten done with a fight where she’d kicked him out for a few days _again_. It’d been over Richie, as always. Richie wanting to see Seth more, Seth wanting to see Richie more. Vanessa did not like the youngest Gecko, said he was weird and a bad influence.

“He’s going to get you _killed_ one day!” Vanessa had screamed, threw a plate at Seth’s head in contradiction; he’d had enough sense to dodge it, but she’d thrown another and it had knocked him over a chair, all of the fine China Carlos had given them as a wedding present destroyed.

“So, what?!” Seth’d screamed back, picking himself off the floor. “I just abandon my brother, do the job solo?”

“Yes!” Vanessa had shouted, and her eyes had been were filled with tears; Seth always hated being the reason for that, but right then he’d been too pissing mad to care. “He’s fucking crazy, Seth! You said so yourself!”

“He’s taking his meds!” Seth’d yelled, irritated and angry she'd been bringing Richie's illness up _again_. “He’s _fine_!”

“What happens when they stop working?” Vanessa had hissed. “You’re _dead_! My husband is _dead_!”

“That’s _my_ concern!” Seth’d snarled. “He’s my brother, Vanessa! I can’t just leave him!”

“So, what, you love him more than me?” Vanessa had sobbed, shaking her head. “I’m your _wife_ , Seth. You’re supposed to love me, too.”

“I _do_ love you!” Seth had said, but it hadn’t sounded right saying those words when he’d been so _goddamn_ pissed he couldn’t even see straight.

Yet he _did_ love Vanessa, but already he was growing tired of her trying to pit him against his brother. Richie was all that Seth’d had for _so fucking long_ , and now Vanessa just expected Seth to drop him like a bad habit? You didn’t quit on family like that. Vanessa had grown up with an abusive father like him and Richie, but she’d never had any siblings to show her love and compassion like Seth did. Maybe that was why she didn’t understand Seth’s need to always be with his brother, but it didn’t make it right. She needed to learn that Richie is a part of Seth, and if you take one, you get the other.

She never did, but Seth came back a few days later anyways, because he loved her, and wanted to try and make it work.

“Getting tired of what?” he asked her, rubbing her arm softly as he watched Scarlet O'Hara tumble down the stairs dramatically, rolling his eyes at the cheesy music playing during her fall. Hopefully Vanessa was just getting tired of this damn movie.

“All of the lying,” Vanessa whispered, and Seth looked at her, seeing the regret and self-loathing there, which made him blink. “I _hate_ working for Carlos. Eddie, he was always good at the job. He tried his hardest not to get civilians killed, and he didn’t rope in any kids who didn’t want to join. Only took the ones who glamorized being a thug.”

“He took me and Richie,” Seth answered. “We didn’t really wanna be a part of it all.”

“But you were born into it,” Vanessa shrugged. “Like me.”

“You just said that you’re tired of it,” Seth murmured.

Vanessa sighed, looked up at him with her big, sad eyes and nodded. “I don’t want to do it anymore. I want to stop being a bad guy and be a good guy instead.”

“It ain’t that easy,” Seth answered.

“Why not?” she asked.

He never could give her an answer, and, seven months later, they were on their way to a divorce anyways. They still loved each other, of course they did, but the arguing was getting ridiculous and they couldn’t stand the sight of each other anymore. Always reminding each other of being a bad person, always making each other do more bad things. And Vanessa still could not accept the fact that Seth was not going to leave his brother, not even for the woman he loved. It was something he could never be programmed to do.

“We could get out together!” she said, desperately, throwing her clothes out of their bedroom dresser and into a big, blue suitcase. It was the last time Seth ever saw her, and he knew that, but he was too tired to stop it. “You and me, Seth. We could leave and never come back.”

“Richie would have to come with us,” Seth said, shaking his head. “I ain’t leaving him here to die.”

“We can’t _take_ Richie,” Vanessa sobbed. “He’s killed _cops_ , Seth. I can’t make a deal for that. For you and me though, I could make a deal for us. Get us protection. We could retire in Morocco or something— somewhere warm. Be happy, have a family, grow old together.”

“I can’t, Vanessa,” Seth said, closed his eyes when he watched her heart break right in front of him. “You can’t ask me to leave my brother behind.”

There was a long silence in the room after that, before, finally, Vanessa said, “I guess this is goodbye, then.”

“I guess it is.”

The divorce was finalized a month later. After that, no one knew where Vanessa had gone. She turned in a few of Carlos’ prime dealers to the D.E.A. and got a deal in return. Vanished off the face of the earth. When Carlos asked Seth if he knew what she’d been planning he’d lied and said he hadn’t, that she’d just been a moody bitch lately and that’s why he’d divorced her, gotten the fuck out, thank God, because she probably would’ve turned him in, too. Carlos believed him by some miracle, said that he and Geckos needed to keep Vanessa's little fuck-up quiet so no one mistook Carlos' authority and thought they could go making deals of their own.

Seth agreed, and put away all the things Vanessa had left behind in the attic, couldn't bring himself to throw them out.

But over the years he’s come to realize that he’s _happy_ Vanessa got out while she could. That he’ll always love her, but they’ve never been good together. Vanessa needs someone who can take care of her and not need anyone else, but Seth can’t be that person. He _needs_ Richie like he needs air.

After Vanessa he thought he’d never find someone who understands that, but then he met Kate. She isn’t like anyone else— she gets that the Gecko brothers are a package deal, probably because she and Scott are one, too. And maybe being with Kate isn’t as fiery as being with Vanessa, isn’t living life on the edge every single moment. But it’s comfortable, and it’s warm, and it's full of love, and Seth cares about Kate in a way he never could for Vanessa. With Vanessa their love was like a flame, burned out quick after they realized they couldn’t be all that they expected each other to be. With Kate it's a slow burn that gets hotter and hotter each day and won't stop; there are no expectations of only needing each other and nothing else— there doesn’t need to be, because it’s just something that’s already understood.

But now Seth needs Vanessa's help, urgently, if they’re going to pull one over on Carlos. Vanessa’s the only person he can trust who knows Carlos’ game inside and out. And the only way to reach Vanessa is to go straight to the person who helped her get out in the first place. A person who hates Seth Gecko’s guts, but would always be sympathetic to the cause of taking down Carlos Madrigal, bastard extraordinaire.

Seth walks into the Dallas division of the D.E.A. confidently only because Kate’s holding his hand, smiling at him for reassurance. They go straight to the office of a one Monica Garza, the Director of the division, and Seth knocks on the door after a deep breath.

“Come in,” calls a steady voice from the other side of the frosted glass.

Seth glances over at Kate and she nods, follows him inside.

Monica looks up from where she’s shuffling around some papers, eyes going wide before settling into slits. “Seth Gecko,” she says, leaning back in her seat and shaking her pretty head. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I’m looking for Vanessa,” he answers.

Monica laughs, rolls her eyes comically. “Of course you are.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kate squeals excitedly, turns to look at Richie and the way he’s gripping the security bar tightly, eyes wide in fear.

“Relax,” she says, glancing out over the carnival below, children screaming and laughing in fun. “We’re perfectly safe up here.”

“We’re _rocking_ ,” Richie breathes, shaking his head.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do on a Ferris wheel,” Kate answers, leaning back and breathing in the fresh air, fearless. “You’re above the entire world. You’re _free_.”

“I don’t like heights,” Richie murmurs.

“Then why’d you come up here with me?”

“You asked me to.”

It’s been almost a month since they encountered Santanico Pandemonium, since they decided to take the woman’s deal and pull a fast one over on Carlos Madrigal. Three weeks since they asked the director of Dallas’ D.E.A. division, Monica Garza, to help them find Vanessa.

Scott’s started school again since then, his big senior year. His new high school and all the other schools in the district decided to put together a back to school carnival, and this is where they’re going to be meeting Vanessa.

Monica had been hesitant at first when Seth had asked the favor of her to find his ex-wife, tell Vanessa he needed her help. “You know Carlos will kill her if he sees her again,” Monica said, eyes hard on Kate and Seth’s intertwined hands as they stood there cautiously in front of the director’s desk. “There’d better be a good reason you’re willing to risk that, Gecko.”

Seth cleared his throat. “Can Kate and I sit down and explain it, then?”

Monica frowned, but nodded.

Before going in, Seth had enlightened Kate as to why they could go to Monica without getting turned over to the agency themselves. Apparently Monica was an ex associate of his uncle Eddie’s like Vanessa had been. Unlike Vanessa, however, Monica had gotten out completely when she’d joined the D.E.A., but Eddie Gecko had never told anyone what had happened because he respected her choice. Wanted her to be happy, let her get her life together and start a family, move up in her career.

Monica was the reason Vanessa got onto the D.E.A. in the first place— she knew what Vanessa did after she’d gotten accepted to the program, that she was a mole, but Monica cared too much about Vanessa by that point to ever pin her. There wasn’t enough evidence to take Carlos down in the first place— he’s in good with every major judge and cabinet member in the state, a professional at bribes and fraudulence. Vanessa had only been able to turn over his prime dealers when she got out, and even then, she’d apparently made Monica promise never to go after Seth.

And Monica hadn’t, still won’t because she’s a good friend.

Besides, now Seth is her ally.

“Richie and I are on a hit list of one of Narciso Ramirez’s bounty hunters,” Seth said after he and Kate were sitting, hadn’t let go of her hand; he was nervous, she could tell. But, to Kate, he didn’t need to be because Monica didn’t seem like a threat. She was obviously a kind woman, good at her job, sure, but loyal to friends and family above the law— Kate felt connected to her because of that.

“That’s my concern how?” Monica asked, just to make Seth sweat.

Seth chuckled, put on the usual arrogant bad boy act to keep his voice steady. “It’s your concern my dear Director Garza, because that bounty hunter offered us a counter deal. This counter deal involves a lot of money, money me and Richie and Kate, here, are going to take from Carlos.”

Monica blinked at that, looked at Seth suspiciously. “And you need Vanessa’s help to do this _why_?”

“Because she knows how Carlos’ operations with the Lords work better than anyone else,” Seth said, and Monica’s eyes widened at the name _Lords_ — apparently everyone knows about these guys but Kate, and she kind of felt left out of the loop, reminded herself to ask Seth why they were so famous later on.

“Why would Vanessa help you, though, at the risk of her life?” Monica asked, shaking her head. “She left so she didn’t have to be involved with anything illegal anymore, Seth. If you ever loved her, you’d honor those wishes.”

Seth flinched at that, and Kate squeezed his hand, looking down at her feet. “I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t a life or death situation, Monica,” Seth said, looking up at the woman pleadingly. “I wouldn’t care if it was just my life at stake, but it’s my brother’s too. And my wife’s, and her brother’s, if she doesn’t get out after Richie and I are dead. Carlos would kill her without us around.”

“Your _wife_?” Monica said, flabbergasted. She looked at Kate again then, and Kate glanced up at her shyly. “Oh, _novia_. Please do not tell me it is you he is speaking of.”

“It is me,” Kate said, shrugging.

Monica shook her head. “You can’t be any older than my daughter,” she said, sighing.

“I’m almost twenty,” Kate said.

“So is my daughter,” Monica smiled sadly. “You are just a child… How could you, Seth?”

Seth flinched again, looking like a man hung by a noose mad of guilty conscience. Kate hated seeing him like that, knows everyone doubts their relationship because she’s young and they think she’s being taken advantage of. And maybe she was, in the beginning, but now she’s here by choice. She isn’t exactly sure what she feels for Seth, but she knows she wants to be with him. She wasn’t lying that night they were together after the run-in with Santanico, when she told Seth she needs him and that she’s staying. Hasn’t been lying any of the other nights she’s been in his bed, either. Because Kate _does_ need him. She needs him and Richie and Scott like she needs to breathe. They’ve all come together so quick, so hard, but Seth and Richie are a part of Kate’s family now, and she can’t imagine them not being in her life anymore.

Doesn’t want to.

“I _chose_ to marry him,” Kate said then, resolute. “He’s my family, ma’am. I’m here because I don’t want to see my family get hurt. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t about that.”

And Monica simply looked at Kate after her answer, saw something there that told her this was not a girl she was speaking to, but a woman. One who knew what she was about and what she wanted. Kate looked innocent and sweet, sure, but there was a fire burning there underneath, a timid confidence that told Monica this young woman would do whatever it took to protect the people she loved. Monica knew the feeling— she sighed and shook her head, laughing softly, turning back to Seth.

“So you expect me to bring you a federally protected witness to help you illegally steal money from a drug lord?” she asked.

“It’d be in your best interest,” Seth shrugged.

“Why is that?” Monica asked, eyes hard.

“Because,” Seth answered. “The money Carlos is getting from the Lords is in exchange for _human_ cargo.”

Both Kate and Monica gaped in shock at that. Kate hadn’t known this detail. She wasn’t even sure _Seth_ had known this detail before a meeting he and Richie’d had with Carlos a few days prior about the big deal.

And all of a sudden Kate felt violently ill. _People_ in exchange for money? _People_?

“You cannot mean…” Monica started.

Seth nodded, but he wasn’t confident anymore— he looked as sick to his stomach as Kate did. “Apparently Carlos is getting into the forced prostitution ring,” Seth said, shaking his head irately. “Richie and I didn’t know that when we agreed to the deal, but now, all the more better to fuck it up for him.”

“How many people are we talking?” Monica asked, her resolve firm now, eyes alight with fury and justice— Kate knew she was going to help them, and that made her proud, because to hear that this big deal Carlos intends to pull off is about forcing people into a life of violence and rape?  Kate was suddenly so angry she could _kill_ Carlos.

Because how _dare_ he think people are profit. How dare he force innocent people into a life like that just for a salary cut. It’s bad enough that he ruins people’s lives with drugs and crime, but to take away their free will? Turn them into _slaves_? Kate’s entire head spun at the idea— she couldn’t fathom it, couldn’t _stand_ it.

“At least five hundred,” Seth said. “There’s going to be more shipments made after Carlos is paid. He’s taking people off the street from all over. He’s also fooling immigrants with the idea he’ll give them a good life over here, only to ship them off to different parts of the world and use them for his own purposes.” Seth shuddered, shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. “I could stand smuggling drugs for him, Monica— most people choose to ruin their lives over that. But _this_? I’m not into the whole idea of using people for profit.”

“Good to see you have some semblance of a conscience,” Monica said, but she wasn’t saying it cruelly, more stunned than anything. She waited for a long moment before sitting up in her chair, looking between Seth and Kate intensely. “So, how are you going to wreck this deal and get the money, then?”

Kate glanced at Seth, waiting for him to explain the full plan, one she thought he and Richie must’ve come up with after hearing what the deal is actually about. For his part, Seth simply laughed nervously, and _shrugged_. “I was kind of waiting for Vanessa to help with that,” he said.

Monica groaned, flopped back down in her chair. “You fucking Geckos,” she said. “Always needing a woman to do the work for you. Men. Useless.”

“So you’ll call her?” Seth asked, taking no offense, simply optimistic it’d been the last button he needed to push for Monica to do them a favor.

Monica sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes,” she said, and Kate smiled, relieved. “But I can’t promise you I will find her by tomorrow. She’s protected deeply. Give me at least a month.”

“We’ve got enough time for that,” Seth said, standing, looking at Kate with so much hope she thought her heart was going to burst. “Thank you, Monica.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Monica snorted. “You’re just lucky you got your uncle’s charm.”

And so Monica had called in every favor she could and managed to locate Vanessa. Had communicated with the Geckos in secret to stay off Carlos’ radar. It’d been just two days ago that Monica called to say Vanessa had agreed to help, was on her way but needed to meet the Geckos somewhere public, somewhere no one would recognize her.

That’s why they’d picked the back to school carnival. The fair grounds are filled with hundreds of parents and their children. Even if someone _is_ watching the Geckos, it’d be hard to keep tabs on them. And Vanessa is going to come in disguise, seek the Geckos out. No one will know it’s her. She’ll look like just another parent or sibling here to enjoy the attractions, ride the Tilt-a-Whirl and win a giant stuffed teddy bear.

“She’ll be there when it gets dark,” Monica told Kate the other day when she was the one to pick up the disposable cell they’ve been using to communicate. “I will be there, too. My son goes to the district your brother does, so it makes sense. I will make sure no one bothers you.”

“Do you really think Carlos would be watching us?” Kate asked. “We’ve given him no reason to suspect…”

“That may be,” Monica answered. “But this bounty hunter you speak of— we cannot trust she is not still keeping tabs on the Geckos. And I am sure she would not like a form of the law getting involved with all of this.”

“Will you be on duty?” Kate asked, hesitantly.

“No,” Monica said. “All of this I am doing illegally, actually. But only because I know that my agents could not take this deal down without getting some bigger people involved in all of it, and me having to turn in Vanessa and your family, Kate. I value the law and my job, but I value justice and loyalty more. I am loyal to Vanessa, and now to you and Seth because you had the guts to try and stop this, even if it was for selfish purposes.”

“I would’ve wanted to stop it anyways,” Kate whispered, tucking the phone into her shoulder as Scott walked by outside her door— he doesn’t know the full deal yet. She doesn’t want him involved with the proceedings, wants to keep him out of it as much as possible and try to keep him safe. “To know what Carlos is doing… These are _people_ we’re talking about here, Monica. Not drugs, but _people_. I couldn’t stand for that. My parents would roll over in their grave if they knew I just stood back and watched it all happen.”

“So would Eddie Gecko,” Monica answered. “He was not a good man by most standards, but he _was_ a fair man. He never held it against people when they wanted out of the business. He even gave me money to break free, and kept me hidden from Carlos. Eddie was only ever involved in selling contraband, not innocent people. He never even killed people that were not cartel. That was all Carlos.”

“Sounds to me like Eddie should’ve never gotten involved with him,” Kate sighed.

Monica laughed sadly. “People do stupid things for money, Kate.”

Kate smiled. “Don’t I know.”

“Holy _shit_!” Richie wheezes as they get stuck at the very top, breaks Kate out of her own thoughts and she sighs fondly, wraps her arms around him.

“You’re okay,” she says.

Richie nuzzles into her shoulder. “I bet Seth is getting a kick out of this. He knows I hate heights.”

Kate laughs, leans back a little so she can look at him, fix his glasses that have gone askew in his panic. He’s got his bad leg draped up over his other knee, still not used to being without the boot. He got it off two weeks ago, traded in in for a binder, still needs his crutches to walk. But he’s been doing physical therapy five days a week, and he’s getting better fast, stronger by the minute. Kate’s happy he feels like himself again, less clumsy and more adapted, but it is kind of terrible for when she and Seth are having ‘ _alone time_ ’ because they never hear Richie sneaking down the hall at night to see what’s going on before it’s too late.

Seth and Kate have not had actual sex yet. They’re taking their time to lead up to it, and Kate’s thankful for that because she likes going slow, likes learning and gaining confidence about her own body and desires. Besides, they’ve done everything else imaginable, and it’s kind of… _great_. The other night Kate learned she actually _is_ good at giving blow jobs and actually _does_ like it. Got Seth off so quick it was kind of humorous, and when she laughed at him he pinned her to the bed, fucked her knuckle-deep with his fingers, whispering dirty things in her ear.

And she’d been _so close_ to coming when Richie knocked on the door, pulled it open. “It sounds like someone’s dying in here.”

“Richie!” Kate screamed, pulling the covers up and over her and Seth, embarrassed beyond good belief, but mainly because of the way Richie was _looking_ at them, eyes dark, smirk at the corners of his mouth. She wondered if he’d been listening for a long time, if he’d been _watching_ , and her cheeks heated at the idea, but she also shivered in arousal, Seth’s hand still touching her, flexing, like he was thinking the same thing.

“What the fuck, dude?” Seth said anyways, grabbed a pillow off the bed and threw it at the door.

Richie closed it and let the pillow hit the frame before opening it wide again. “Scott and I are trying to _sleep_ ,” he chuckled. “Keep it down, _daddy_.”

Kate let out a chagrined groan, burying her face into Seth’s chest. “I _hate you_ , Richie.”

“No you don’t,” he laughed. “You _love_ me.”

Kate didn’t contradict him.

And now she just holds him as they spin around and around on the Ferris wheel, his solid warmth the same as Seth’s, but his frame different, taller and leaner. He presses his face into her hair, breathing softly until they come to a final stop and are let off the ride. Seth’s waiting right there, smiles at the both of them cheekily because he doesn’t care about their intimate embrace. He simply comes over with Richie’s crutches, helps Kate and then his brother up, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.

“Where’s Scott?” Kate asks.

“Running around with Lily and his boyfriend,” Seth shrugs.

Scott started dating the kid from the concert, Derek, a few weeks ago. He’s entirely infatuated and Derek seems to be the same, eyes lighting up every time Scott walks into the room. Kate saw it first hand when they all had Derek come over for dinner the other week. He’s a nice kid, short and chubby with dark skin and a happy smile. Kate likes him, is glad Scott’s so happy. Even had Lily meet Derek, the three of them hanging out and talking about bands and poetry and art like a little twenty-first century brat pack.

“You had _the talk_ with him yet, Kate?” Richie laughs, pulling out his pack of cigarettes.

Kate reaches over and snatches the one he lights, stuffs it in her mouth; he simply smiles fondly and lights a new one. “Scott knew about that stuff before me,” she shrugs, blowing out smoke into the warm September breeze. “I think he’s good.”

“Maybe we should buy him a pack of condoms for his birthday next month,” Seth jokes.

Kate grimaces. “Yes, because I totally want to ask my brother what size he needs.”

“Seth wears magnums,” Richie shrugs.

Kate makes a skeptical face, because, sure, she likes Seth’s penis and everything, but he’s not much longer than average, she’d say. When she glances over at Seth though he’s grinning at her, knows what she’s thinking.

“Gotta fit the width, sweetheart,” he chuckles.

And _oh_ , Kate thinks, because all things considered, Seth _is_ thick. “It’s weird you know that,” she says to Richie anyways, expression pinched.

“Not really,” Richie says. “Seth and I are _close_.” And the way he says that last word, it makes Kate pause and look at him, really _look_. Because she knows that it’s unhealthy how codependent Richie and Seth are upon each other, but she hadn’t thought…

Seth clears his throat, tugs the both of them forwards mumbling something about wanting a drink. They go and get lemon shake-ups from one of the stands, sit down at a picnic table and chat idly when suddenly Kate can feel someone standing behind her, glances over one shoulder to look up at a beautiful, towering woman.

She’s got to be as tall as Seth, maybe taller. Her frame is curvy yet slender, and she’s wearing tight jeans and a pretty blouse that looks like it’s off the cover of Vogue. Her blonde hair is cut in a short bob, and her eyes are hidden behind dark sunglasses even though the sun is setting.

Kate realizes immediately that this is Vanessa, the woman’s confidence and beauty everything Seth described and more.

Sitting there in her plain shorts and MCR t-shirt, hair all frizzy from the heat, Kate suddenly feels very inadequate, and turns to see Richie looking at Vanessa with contempt while Seth looks at her in amazement. Kate swallows at the latter, watches as Seth stands and it’s like gravity, the way he moves towards Vanessa. They come together and hug each other tightly, something like old friends and a little bit more.

Only, when Seth pulls away, Vanessa slaps him right across the mouth.

“Fucking _ow_ ,” Seth says as he jerks back, brings a hand up to his quickly swelling cheek. “What the hell was that for?”

“You not chasing me down at the airport,” Vanessa glowers. “It was supposed to be like a Vivien Leigh movie, you prick.”

“You know how much I hate those old sap films,” Seth laughs, and the deep sound of it makes Vanessa smile, and Kate feels like crawling in a hole in the ground and dying.

Richie must see the trepidation on her face, because suddenly he’s standing, limping over to Seth and his ex-sister-in-law. “Hey,” he says.

“I’m going by Rachel now,” Vanessa answers, smile turning down into a frown. “See you haven’t changed much, Richie. Still the same creep as usual.”

“And you look like an expensive hooker, as always,” Richie answers, smirking when Vanessa’s face goes red.

“ _Richie_ ,” Seth snaps, shaking his head. “Don’t fucking start.”

“Sorry,” Richie answers, rolling his eyes. “So, _Rachel_ , we have someone to introduce you to.”

“Oh, really?” Vanessa asks.

Richie nods, grinning; next to him, Seth’s face goes pale.

“This is Kate,” Richie says; Kate waves a hand up hesitantly and Vanessa smiles at her, until Richie’s next words. “Seth’s new wife.”

The new smack Vanessa gives Seth is with her _fist_ , upside his head. Seth falls into the picnic table and Kate watches with wide eyes, wondering if she’s next as Vanessa turns to look at her in horror.

“What the _fuck_?!” Vanessa screams. “Seth, she’s **_ten years old_**! I’d expect this out of Richie, but _you_!”

“Nice to see you approve,” Seth says, standing up and popping his jaw back into place, grimacing.

“Please tell me this is all a joke?” Vanessa asks, and shakes her head. “If they’re paying you for this, kid, please knock it off.”

“They’re not paying me,” Kate says, realizes she’s lying and slants her mouth to the side, not for the first time wondering about her life choices. “Well, not really…”

Vanessa snorts, turns around to Richie and Kate thinks she’s going to yell at him, but instead she punches Richie, too, and he falls down on the bench beside Kate, blinking in shock. “I’m sure you’re to blame, here! Start talking!”

“Can we sit _down_ first?” Seth hisses. “You’re drawing a crowd.” He motions around to the few bystanders that have paused to look at the theatrics their table is putting on and Vanessa sighs, comes to take a seat next to Seth opposite Richie and Kate, her finely manicured hands clenched into fists.

“Talk,” she says.

“Seth was gonna get deported,” Richie starts, rubbing his head where he got hit, scowling. “He had a month to get married or else Carlos would’ve killed him for getting kicked out.”

“So you hired a toddler?” Vanessa snaps.

“Um…” Kate says, softly. “I’m almost twenty.” Vanessa just glares at her and Kate backs down, slurping at her drink so she doesn’t say something else that’s stupid.

“She’s not a toddler,” Seth says then, snorting, and when Vanessa raises her hand he simply rolls his eyes. “Would you stop hitting me? Jesus, you already gave me a concussion that time you threw a vase at my head.”

“You deserved it,” Vanessa pouts. “You were being a fucking _asshole_.”

“I was drunk,” Seth defends.

“Doesn’t cancel out you being an asshole,” Vanessa deadpans. “You _peed_ on the _couch_ , Seth!”

Kate blinks, glances over at Seth who’s going red. “I thought it was the toilet,” he stammers.

“Well, it wasn’t,” Vanessa sighs. “And then you got mad at me for yelling at you to clean it up, and started screaming back, threw the towel I gave you back at me, and _that_ ’s when _I_ threw the vase.”

“I never heard _that_ story,” Richie says, trying to hold in laughter.

“You didn’t hear a lot of them,” Seth growls.

“ _Focus_ ,” Vanessa says, waving her hands to get their attention. “Stop trying to distract me from you marrying a high schooler, Gecko.”

“She’s not in _high school_ ,” Seth says, looking more than annoyed by this point. “She’s been graduated for a while. When we met her she was working in Del Rio at a fast food joint. Like Richie said, I needed to get married, so _he_ proposed to Kate basically, and she agreed. We got married. Carlos was an ass about it. We got threatened by a bounty hunter. Decided to pay Carlos back and steal all his money. And here we are.”

“And what does Kate have anything to do with it?” Vanessa asks icily, and Kate’s surprised the woman even remembers her name with all the kid analogies she’s been using thus far.

“Carlos threatened her and her brother,” Richie says. “If Seth and I die, so do Kate and Scott. We are _not_ letting them get hurt for our mistake. That’s why we called you. We can get the money we need to _get out_ , but _only_ if you help us, _Rachel_.”

Vanessa hesitates at his answer, looks at Kate again and her eyes seem to soften. “Well I’ll be damned,” Vanessa says after a moment, smiling. “Here I thought _I’d_ be the one that got Seth to give up his life of crime, but it’s _you_ who did it.”

“It’s probably ‘cause she likes me,” Richie quips.

Vanessa snorts. “Shut up, Richard.”

“So you’re not mad?” Kate asks then, flinching after the words come out of her mouth.

“Mad?” Vanessa asks, but she looks confused at the word, not angry or irritated. 

“That Seth got married again?” Kate says, tone soft. “And that I…that I got him to change his mind about everything?”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Vanessa says, and she seems so _kind_ , making Kate blink in surprise. “I’m not mad. I’m _happy_.”

“You sure fooled me,” Seth mutters, yelps when Vanessa slaps him upside the head.

“Of course I’m happy, you idiot,” she frowns. “Just because we got divorced doesn’t mean I don’t still love you and want you to live. _Jesus_ , I’m not the Wicked Witch of the West.”

“Damn,” Richie says. “So you’d be fine if I threw water on you?”

Vanessa stares at him blankly and he flinches. “Look,” she says. “Do you want my help or not?”

“We do,” Seth answers her. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well,” Vanessa says. “First we’re going to have to do infiltration.”

“Which means?” Seth asks.

Vanessa smirks. “Your favorite,” she says, and Kate can feel her stomach drop. “You guys are going to have to go to dinner at Carlos’ house.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Is it weird that I like Vanessa?” Kate asks that night when Seth and her are lying in bed.

They got back from the carnival less than an hour ago. Talked to Vanessa for a long time about what they need to do to get into Carlos' head, get her the information she needs to rewire the cards in their favor.

"You're really gonna get out of all of it?" Vanessa asked Seth after Scott came by and dragged Kate off to go play one of the carnival games where you throw darts at water balloons, Richie going with to help Kate with her aim.

Seth had though being alone with Vanessa again for the first time since she'd left him would be weird, but it wasn't. "Yeah," he answered her. "I am."

"What finally changed your mind?" Vanessa whispered softly.

Seth smiled. "Kate did."

He's been thinking about it since he met her, after all. About not being the bad guy anymore. Maybe having Santanico coming after them was a blessing. It was what finally inspired Seth to stop being the dirt under Carlos' boots, to stop hurting people for a living. That night after talking to Santanico, Kate sleeping softly next to him in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about what the bounty hunter had said.  _Take it back from Carlos._  Eighteen million combined with all the savings Seth and Richie have in various accounts around the world their uncle Eddie set up is enough for them to live off of for the rest of their lives, Kate and Scott included.

They can finally get out of all the violence, retire. And as a silver lining they get to  _save_ people. Innocent people Carlos wants to use for profit. They can keep lives from being destroyed, fuck Carlos over and serve their uncle Eddie some justice. What Kate said to Seth all those weeks ago, about how it doesn't make you evil as longer as you regret the bad things you've done, it's stuck with him. Because he doesn't like the person he is, has never liked it. Sure, he loves the thrill of the job, loves the money. But he doesn't like hurting people; he's only ever done that because he has to.

But he wouldn't have to anymore if this all works out.

"I'm glad you found her, then," Vanessa said, and she meant it.

"Me, too," Seth answered.

They parted ways after that, Vanessa going off with Monica to a safe house while Seth found his family. They were all crowded around cheering for Kate when he finally did-- Richie helped her hit every target, apparently, and as a result, Brando now has a large stuffed animal as a new toy.

"Why would that be weird?" Seth asks; he’s reading schematics on the big deal that Carlos gave him the other week and pauses to glance over at Kate. She’s got her face hidden behind a book about college prep, posture shy.

"I don't know," she shrugs.

Seth sighs and pries the book away from her hands so he can kiss her and tickle her down into the pillows, Kate hiccuping with laughter, no longer timid.

She stopped sleeping in her room a few weeks ago. Neither one of them really knows how it happened. Just that she started coming to his room every night either to fool around or simply cuddle, and neither one of them said anything about it. She still keeps her things in her room because it’s easier, but she uses the bathroom in his room in the morning, likes it because then she doesn’t have to wait for Scott and Richie to take forever showering so she only has a half-an-hour to get ready before her shifts at work.

And Seth likes her here, likes having her safe and warm next to him every night. Likes waking her up with kisses that sometimes turn into more. He’s still waiting to try for actual sex though, letting Kate get used to things, doesn’t want to rush her. She might be confident and sexy and strong, but she _is_ young, inexperienced. He doesn’t want to pressure her into anything she’s not ready for, would be content to stay the way they are for however long she wants. Even if he _really_ fucking wants to make love to her so badly he’s hard every time he thinks about it.

But everything is always going to be Kate’s choice to initiate— she’s the more logical one out of the two of them anyways.

“It’s not weird,” Seth laughs. “She’s pretty likable when she’s not throwing things at you.”

“She’s actually very nice,” Kate says, settling into his side after her breathing goes back to normal from all the tickling. “And the fact she’s risking her life to help us is a really big deal. She must really love you.”

“She _did_ ,” Seth says, and at that Kate’s head perks back up and he smiles at her softly. “Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart, she still loves me. And I still love her. But not like that.”

“What do you mean?” Kate asks.

He shrugs. “We’ve both moved on,” he says, simple and honest. “I think we’ve both realized we’re not good together as a couple. Expected too much out of each other, couldn’t be the person the other one wanted. We got married too fast. Should’ve waited it out and realized we’re not each other’s type, not really. Vanessa needs someone who’s going to always choose her first, and I need someone to understand that I’ll try my fucking hardest to do that, but that I’ve also got a responsibility to Richie. Someone who’s willing to be a _part_ of my family instead of just a piece of it.” He takes a deep breath, looks at Kate and cups her face softly, feeling vulnerable when he says, “Someone like you.”

Kate blinks, looks at him to try and see if he’s being serious, realizes he is before suddenly she’s kissing him _hard_. “I’m so happy I met you,” she says around her kisses, moving onto his cheeks and then his neck, biting softly, making Seth’s entire body come alive, his hands fitting to her waist.

“So am I,” he answers, kissing the top of her head, starting to slide her shirt up and off— Kate helps him, smiles into the next kiss they share. “Even if the circumstances were less than great.”

“I don’t care about that,” Kate answers, crawling into his lap, pressing her hips against his and Seth groans, holding her closer. “I _want_ to be here, and that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah,” Seth grins, leaning up to kiss her again. “It is.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To make things clear: I fucking LOVE Vanessa Styles and am so happy I got to include her in this!!!
> 
> Also, I am sorry if this seems like another filler chapter, but I felt it important to include Seth and Vanessa's back story, and I mean, MONICA. Monica!!!! I love Monica.
> 
> And for those wondering about why Monica wouldn't tell the rest of the D.E.A. about the deal, it's as she said: she doesn't want to get Vanessa and Seth in trouble. Obviously since Vanessa made a deal, she's not allowed anymore criminal activity without breaking her end of the bargain. If Monica were to turn the deal over to the D.E.A. and have them be part of the collaboration, they'd have to arrest Vanessa and the Gecko family. I've always seen Monica as being big about friends and family (she very much was in the show; how much she loved her family was so evident and just WHY DID SHE DIE NO), so she will put them above everything.
> 
> That being said, the plot for the deal is still in the making, but I know how it's all going to go. So if it seems a little choppy right now, I apologize, but it'll all be explained by the end, I promise!


	11. Will you love, comfort and keep a hardened criminal as long as you shall live?

 

“You cut your hair!”

Kate glances up from where she’s ringing the latest customer in, smiles back at Marnie as the woman sets her bag down in one of the cubbies behind the counter. “Yeah,” Kate says. “What do you think?”

The day after the carnival Richie went to get his own hair cut and Kate went with him. On a last minute whim, she asked if the hairdresser could fit her in, too. Got a couple inches taken off so the ends curl thickly around her shoulders, had her bangs trimmed bluntly. The hairdresser, Cherry, is Seth’s friend, has been cutting the Geckos’ hair for years, so she gave Kate highlights as a free bonus, a pretty blend of red and a lighter brown than Kate’s natural color. The whole process had been very metamorphic in a way, and by the end Kate felt that she looked more grown up, whether it be from the haircut or life itself.

Richie loved it— said she looks like a young Audrey Hepburn. When they’d gotten home after, Scott had looked at her like she was another person entirely, but he smiled. And then there’d been Seth… Seth who had come walking out of the kitchen grumbling about his latest conversation with Monica over the big deal, only to stop completely in his tracks and look up at Kate in amazement.

She touched her hair self-consciously, blushing. “Is it too—” she started, but Seth cut her off, striding over to her in quick steps before swinging her up in his arms and kissing her.

“Wow,” he said when he set her back on her feet, touched the curls at her shoulders and chuckled. “Who knew I married a femme fatale?”

And Kate simply laughed, hugging him.

“It looks _fantastic_!” Marnie says now as Kate starts preparing a soy latte, letting the coffee filter heat ash she turns to smile at Marnie happily. “I leave on vacation and then come back only to see you looking five years older, dude. But in a good way, I mean!”

“Thanks,” Kate giggles, mixes everything together after the coffee's poured and caps the cup, calls out the order, blushing when the college guy who asked for it takes the cup from her with a flirty grin.

Marnie pulls on her apron, ties the strings at the back over the large swell of her hips and fluffs up her own blue waves. “So, how goes married life?”

“Oh, you know,” Kate shrugs, trying to be casual even though her life is anything but right now. “The usual. How’s Aja?”

At the name, Marnie gets this dreamy look on her face and sighs. “Perfect, as always.”

Both of the girls smile at each other, start prepping the next few orders and make chit-chat about their families and lives outside of work. Marnie’s in the middle of worrying about her psychology exam coming up on Tuesday when someone clears their throat near the register. Kate turns, hadn’t even heard the bell above the door chime to signal a new patron’s arrival. She puts on a big smile and goes to take the woman’s order, signaling for Marnie to wait just one second to tell Kate about how unfair her douche of a psych teacher is because he never puts the material he tells them to study on the tests.

“Hello,” Kate says to the customer. “How may I help you today?”

“Large, iced skinny Frappuccino, please,” says the woman, and Kate pauses, because something about her voice is familiar. The woman tilts her head in reply, takes off her big black sunglasses. “Hey, Kate.”

“Oh my God,” Kate says, blinking. “…Vanessa?”

The woman makes a shushing motion with one elegant finger to her lips, but smiles and nods. Kate simply blinks, taking in her suddenly changed appearance. She’s still the same height, but her frame looks wider and rounder, draped in a professional white skirt-suit. Her face looks a bit fuller, and the usually distinguishing mole on her forehead has vanished. Instead of the short blonde bob that she had when Kate met her, Vanessa’s hair is now a bright red with big, fat curls in it.

“Whoa,” Kate says, miffed.

“Are you off soon?” Vanessa asks.

Kate nods. “I only have twenty minutes left on my shift.” Now that Marnie’s back from vacation Kate’s shifts will go back to being on shift only half the day instead of its entirety, which she’s thankful for, because she misses spending time with her boys.

“Good,” Vanessa grins behind a thick coat of burgundy lipstick— even her _teeth_ are different, look bigger in her mouth, more bucked. “I’d like to talk.”

“Okay,” Kate answers, shakes her head to get rid of the lingering surprise. “You said a large, iced skinny Frappuccino, right?”

Vanessa laughs, the same confident, beautiful laugh Kate remembers from the other night at the carnival. “You’ve got a good memory.”

She waits for Kate to make the drink (on the house) before going to sit with it at a table by one of the windows, Kate staring after her. Marnie asks if Kate knows the woman and Kate nods, says her name's Rachel, and that she's one of Seth’s friends. She watches Vanessa pull out of a Kindle and start reading on it, calm and collected, shakes her head and goes back to talking to Marnie about her psychology test, glancing at the clock every few minutes until she’s finally off shift.

“She came so we could talk about Thanksgiving plans,” Kate lies as she shrugs off her apron and trades it in for her purse; she take a moment to text Richie to wait to pick her up, and when he texts back asking why, she says she’s spending time with a friend. With their history together, Kate figures Richie wouldn't be too happy about her talking to Vanessa, no matter how harmless the conversation.

“Oh, that’s cool,” Marnie says, hands Kate a warm cup with her favorite salted caramel mocha blend inside. “So you’ve got something to do if it becomes awkward,” Marnie says, having easily picked up on Kate’s trepidation about talking to Vanessa.

“Thanks,” Kate says gratefully, before going over to take up the seat opposite from the woman.

Even though Kate wasn’t lying when she told Seth she likes Vanessa, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still make Kate nervous. She’s much older than Kate, much more experienced in the world. Kate doesn’t want to say the wrong thing and offend her on accident, make her reconsider helping them with the heist against Carlos. Vanessa doesn’t really seem like she’d ever be the type to get so offended she’d break a promise or anything, but Kate’s learned over the past three and a half months that appearances can be very deceiving.

After Kate’s sitting Vanessa puts her Kindle away, but not before Kate catches the title of the novel she was reading on the screen— Gone With the Wind. Kate smiles, remembers Seth mentioning it’s one of Vanessa’s favorite stories, and that just makes Vanessa seem so much more approachable, so very human.

“So,” Vanessa says, leaning forwards in her seat. “You’re probably wondering why I look like a forty-two year old lawyer, aren’t you?”

“More so wondering _how_?” Kate says.

Vanessa gives a smug tilt of her shoulder. “Monica has a very good friend who’s a whiz with movie make-up. We figured it wouldn’t hurt to make me look as different as possible, just in case. Wigs and body suits can do a lot for your appearance.”

“That’s smart,” Kate says, twining her fingers together.

Vanessa nods cheekily, before reaching across the table to touch Kate’s hair. “You look different, too,” Vanessa says. “I didn’t realize how grown up you are, initially. You’re a little young, yeah, but you’ve got this kind of… _something_ that makes you wiser than your age. Now I can see why Seth likes you so much. Usually he’s always gone for older women, but with you, it’s not really your age that matters, is it? It’s your life experience.”

“Oh,” Kate says, astounded to be paid such a big compliment by her husband’s ex-wife. “Well, thank you.”

Smiling, Vanessa sits back in her seat again, sipping at her drink. “Plus you make a damn good Frappuccino, which just adds to your appeal,” she says, and both she and Kate laugh at the comedic relief of it. “So,” Vanessa says after they’ve calmed down. “Has Seth explained to you what Monica and I have been planning, yet?”

Kate shakes her head. “Carlos sent him on a solo job to Durango the day I got my hair cut,” she answers, sighing. “He’s been gone for the week and doesn’t come back until tonight. I only know about us trying to get a dinner date with Carlos so we can convince him to tell us where the deal is happening.”

“That’s the start of it all,” Vanessa says. “If we can find the location, I’ve got an idea.”

“What’s that?” Kate asks, leans in so no stray ears can pick up on the conversation; Marnie’s been watching them this whole time, and even though Kate considers Marnie a good friend now, she doesn’t want her knowing about something like this. It could put Marnie in danger, and Kate doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

Vanessa leans closer too, knows the game. “I’ve met some friends since I moved away,” she says. “Let’s just say they don’t like Carlos very much, either. And they definitely would _not_ like the cargo this particular deal involves. They’d be willing to help us.”

“So if we know the location,” Kate says, piecing things together, “They’d be there?”

Vanessa nods, a malicious glint in her eyes. “They’d set those people free, Kate, while the boys get the money. Then they’d help us get out.”

“What if Carlos chases us?” Kate asks skeptically. Even though she was the one who agree to this idea initially, she knows it has its risks, but there’s really no other way of getting twelve million dollars on such short notice, not one that Carlos wouldn’t find out about and kill them over anyways. At least if they do this, they can try to get away from him, take the extra eighteen million and run.

“Monica’s good at making people disappear,” Vanessa answers. “Besides, I’m not just here to help Richie and Seth get the money,” she says. “I’m here to fuck up Carlos Madrigal’s life. For Eddie.”

“You mean Seth and Richie’s uncle?” Kate asks.

“Yes,” Vanessa answers, measures the confused expression on Kate’s face and sighs. “They didn’t tell you, did they?”

“Tell me what?” Kate asks.

“Eddie didn’t get killed on the job for no reason,” Vanessa whispers. “Carlos set it up.”

Kate gapes, mouth open like a fish. “Why didn’t they tell me?” she asks, not feeling betrayed, exactly, but sad that neither Seth nor Richie felt like they could explain to her what must be the real reason that they both hate Carlos so much.

“It’s dangerous to know,” Vanessa says. “I mean, everyone in the group already knows, but they won’t say anything about it. Carlos killed Eddie because Eddie didn’t like all the shit Carlos had started doing. How many people were getting killed on the job. Eddie said even the money wasn’t worth good men’s lives.”

“So Carlos killed him to make a profit,” Kate says, her entire body suddenly hot in anger. Kate remembers what Seth told her about his uncle— that even though he wasn’t a good man because of his profession, he’d still been good to the Gecko brothers. Had taken care of them when they were young, made sure to look out for them when they got involved in the cartel’s affairs.

Vanessa nods again, eyes hard. “I worked for Carlos after Eddie died because I didn’t have a choice. But I couldn’t _stand_ it. Because of him, all the people on the lower rungs have had to do a lot of things we didn’t want to. I can see why the Geckos finally want out, because, the things we’ve all had to do thanks to Carlos, that kind of shit sticks in your head and makes you hate yourself.”

“Seth keeps thinking I’m going to leave him for it,” Kate whispers softly, eyes downcast on the table. “That I’ll suddenly realize he’s awful and hate him.”

“Will you?” Vanessa asks.

Kate shakes her head. “People work with what they’re given. What he does, it isn’t right, but he doesn’t have many other options.”

“But he does _now_ ,” Vanessa says, and Kate looks up at her in confusion. “Now that he has you,” she clarifies. “He’s going to try and turn his life around, Kate. And _you_ made him want to do that.”

“I think Santanico threatening him and Richie did,” Kate says, shaking her head. “We’re only doing all of this because we don’t see another option. Richie and Seth even talked about robbing a bank before actually going through with the plan against Carlos, but they realized he’d find out and probably just shoot them for causing a scene. Or shoot me. Even if he didn’t, we don’t know if there won’t be another job that kills them, or another bounty hunter coming for them after Santanico. At least if we do this, we can get out. Take the extra money and just…get away.”

“That’s the way I saw it when I left,” Vanessa says, her voice strong.

Kate bites her lip and looks at the table. “But I think they’re going to miss the thrill of it,” she says honestly. “They don’t like hurting people, and they definitely _hate_ working for Carlos, but I can tell when they come back from jobs how much energy they have. I don’t think it’s the money they love this for, but the adventure.”

“Can’t blame them for that,” Vanessa says. “Everyone’s got that side to them that’s a dare devil. Even you, I’d bet.”

Kate blushes, because she _has_ been able to admit to herself that even though her life now is terrifying, it’s also _invigorating_. Before meeting the Geckos, Kate was just going through the motions. She wasn’t living, but surviving. An extra on the set of her own life. But now she feels _alive_ , she feels like she has a chance in the world. Somehow, someway, being with the Geckos has showed Kate that she can take control of her life. They’ve showed her that she doesn’t have to back down to people who are bigger than her, the people that think they’re in charge, the people who have taken everything from her and told her there’s nothing she can do about it. She thought that after her parents died, she’d be stuck in a hopeless rut forever, kicked around like dirt because she couldn’t fight back.

But, no, the Geckos have showed Kate that she doesn’t have to be a victim, that she can take it all _back_.

“Yeah…” Kate says after a moment, looks up and smiles shyly. “I guess so.”

“I bet it’s the sex— that’s something Seth has _always_ known how to do,” Vanessa jokes, making Kate gape, and Vanessa’s expression falter. “Wait, have you and Seth not _had sex_?”

“Um…” Kate says, wiggles uncomfortably in her seat. “Not, uh…”

“Oh,” Vanessa says, softening. “This is your first time, huh?”

“Is it _that_ obvious?” Kate asks, grimacing.

“Only to other women,” Vanessa shrugs. “We seem to get each other about that, y’know? Men are kind of dumb with those things.”

“I think Richie knew,” Kate says.

“Richie is _weird_ ,” Vanessa answers, but it’s not a cruel statement, just is.

“Yeah, kind of,” Kate laughs.

“I think it’s sweet Seth’s being so patient,” Vanessa says, smiling. “He really cares about you.”

“Thank you,” Kate says, and she smiles back.

The two women sit in silence for a couple of moments after, both casting comfortable glances back and forth. And Kate realizes cheerfully that Vanessa is not as volatile as everyone’s always made her sound. Sure, she has a temper, a bad side, but so does everyone. It probably only came out so much during their first meeting because Vanessa had to deal with the Geckos, and even the nicest person in the world can get irritated with those two quite easily. Kate understands why Vanessa threw things even, because there's been a few times when Seth or Richie are being particularly stubborn, that she's wanted to throw things at them herself.

“You’re really nice,” Kate says before she can think better of it, and Vanessa raises a brow skeptically at her. “I mean,” Kate tries to amend, stammering. “Just…you didn’t have to help us. Seth was worried you wouldn’t, that you’d still be mad at him. But you’re here, and you’re risking a lot for it, but you’re still kind to me when you don’t gotta be.”

“It’s because I _want_ to help,” Vanessa says, nothing but the truth. “Seth and I might be over, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love him and want to help him. After I left, I realized I was being kind of selfish, asking him to leave his brother for me. I guess I was just so scared that Seth was going to get hurt by being with Richie, by continuing to work for Carlos. But it wasn’t my choice what he decided to do with his life, and once I realized that it was easier to move on.

“But when Monica called after she found me, and told me how much trouble y’all are in, I couldn’t just sit back and let it happen.” Vanessa pauses, looks down at the table and the condensation her drink has left there, murky little ring on the wooden tabletop. “I left so I didn’t have to be the bad guy anymore, Kate, and I reasoned that if I just sat back and let Seth and Richie get into something this dangerous without helping, I’d be playing the role I didn’t want to all over again.”

Kate reaches over and takes Vanessa’s hand then, and the woman smiles at her warmly. “So you came,” Kate says, thankful.

“I did," Vanessa says. "And when I saw you all together, the way the brothers _look_ at you, Kate, I just…I knew they were serious when they told me they’re ready to give it all up. Seth and I, we weren’t good together. We had a lot of love, but not the kind you need to build a family. You and him, though, and Richie and your brother— I can see that you guys _are_ a family.” She squeezes Kate’s hand and Kate lets out a small breath, the pinprick of tears behind her eyes because everything Vanessa’s just said has really hit her, made her insides flop. “It gives me hope,” Vanessa says. “Hope that I can find something like that, someday.”

“I think you will,” Kate says, and she means it.

“I’m happy Seth found you,” Vanessa says. “I’m glad he found someone who makes him want to be better. He loves you a lot, and I’m thankful for that.” Kate falters at the word _love_ , looks at Vanessa with wide eyes. “He hasn’t said it yet, has he?” Vanessa asks, picking up on Kate’s hesitance.

“I don’t think he…” Kate starts, swallows down a lump in his throat.

“He does,” Vanessa says, and she's so sure that it makes Kate's head spin, like she's on a carousel, room tumbling by in sight and color and sound. “I know the look he gives you, Kate— it’s the way he used to look at me, but with you it’s… _deeper_. The two of you, you understand each other. Seth and I never could do that, never could just accept each other for what we are. But you and him, you don’t even have to try. It just comes natural. Even if you want to better yourselves by giving the bad things up, it’s only because you want to be good and safe. Want to take care of each other and your family. And that’s real love, Kate. I hope you know that.”

Kate blinks, her heart beating hard in her chest as she takes Vanessa’s words in. She thinks about what Frost said about hope being the best thing, about how hard she’s been trying for so long just to make it in this world on her own. But then she met Seth and Richie, and they _gave_ her hope, they took her and Scott in so easy, and they look out for them like it's natural instinct. They gave them a family again. And they're so good and king and loving, closed off sometimes, lost little boys who were never given the tools to be anything else, but now they're trying so hard for something different, better. And Seth is so much more than just Kate’s husband because of that— he’s her _friend_. He’s someone who holds her when the world starts spiraling out of control, and she loves him for that.

_She. Loves. Him._

“Oh my God,” Kate whispers, looking down at her wedding ring in sudden realization.

“There it is,” Vanessa grins. “Glad I could help you see it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kate waits eagerly on the lip of the steps, feet bouncing, skirt twirling against her ankles like a chorus.

After her hug, life-altering realization, she and Vanessa went back to talking about the big deal, about how if they place their timing right, Vanessa thinks they can pull it off. She said she’s been hopping around all over the world, uses cash instead of cards, changes her name every few months. She said that if Kate and Seth and Richie and Scott are up for that, then staying hidden from Carlos will work.

“Maybe you can even just kill him,” Vanessa reasoned, and Kate nearly choked on her sip of coffee. “It’d be the easiest way.”

“I hadn’t thought of it,” Kate answered honestly. “Killing people…”

“Not your thing,” Vanessa said. “At least not yet.”

They finished up their conversation a few minutes later, Vanessa saying she and Monica would be in touch, for Kate to let them know any new information that comes up. Kate promised that she would, waved goodbye to Marnie who gave her a thumbs up from behind the counter and watched as Vanessa walked Kate out to the curb, asking if she needed a ride.

“Richie’s on his way,” Kate shrugged.

Vanessa smiled wolfishly. “It’s funny,” she laughed, deep and low. “It’s not just Seth who’s willing to change because he loves you.”

“What do you mean?” Kate asked, squinting up at her through the setting rays of Texan sunlight, trying to figure out what she was implying.

“Nothing,” Vanessa snickered. She hugged Kate then, and it was warm and comfortable, and Kate hugged back. “See you later, Kate,” she said, and Kate watched her walk away, wondering what she’d meant, about how she’d made Kate recognize her true feelings for Seth back in the café, a heart-stop kind of elation in her chest.

“What’s got you so bubbly?” Richie asked when he picked her up a few minutes later.

Kate shrugged and threw her purse into the foot well. “I just…” she said, tongue heavy in her mouth. “I realized something.”

“About what?” Richie asked.

“About myself, sort of,” Kate answered.

They got home and Kate made them all dinner, hummed stupid love songs while she set the timer on the oven, lost in thought. Kept to herself while they were eating and Richie and Scott had a running conversation about some old movie over their plates of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. They were sneaking glances at her though, at the way she was picking at her food, looking off towards the window, simply contemplating.

 _I love Seth,_ she couldn’t help but repeat to herself over and over. _I love him and Richie both_ (because she always has loved Richie, too, if she's being honest with herself, and now she's being honest with herself, so she might as well admit that, too). _I love them. I love my **husband**. Holy shit._

“Seth’ll be home in a little bit,” Richie said after dinner, when Kate was washing the dishes, waltzing back and forth in front of the sink. “He just made it to the city.”

“Oh,” Kate said, trying to keep her voice casual. She stiffened, though, when Richie walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, chin on her shoulder. It wasn’t that the gesture is uncommon now that he can stand and walk without barely needing his crutches, just that she was afraid he was going to feel her heart beating a million miles a minute and see right through her. Know every little connection she'd put together and call her out on it.

“You okay, Katie?” he asked, hands clasped over her stomach, making Kate shiver with obtuse want and nerves.

She thought of what Vanessa had said about Richie and Seth both, the way she’d smiled after… “Yeah,” Kate lied. “I just…I’m glad Seth’s coming home.”

“Me too,” Richie grinned, and kissed her on the cheek, asked if her she needed any help and when she said no, Scott was drying as per usual, Richie just shrugged and went into the living room to watch television and wait for Seth to get home.

Kate finished cleaning the dishes a few minutes later, Scott wondering back in to dry them for her like he always does, a habit they've had since they started doing chores around the house as kids. She picked up her wedding ring from where she’d placed it in a glass by the sink so it didn’t slip off while she was washing, tilted it around so it caught the lights in the kitchen, sparkling like rainbow fragments and promises.

“You know, Seth didn’t even give Vanessa that ring when they got married,” Scott said, making Kate startle.

“Really?” she asked, slipped the ring on her finger, marveling at how perfectly it still fit even though her hands were pruney and puffy from water exposure.

Scott nodded. “Richie told me so. He said that Seth said it wasn’t Vanessa’s taste, but that he thought it was perfect for you. It was their mom’s.”

“I know,” Kate whispered, thought about that time Seth had showed her his mother’s cross and how much that simple gesture had meant.

She simply kept looking at the golden band on her ring finger for a moment, knowing how much worth it really has. Because it’s not about its carrot value or its weight, but what it symbolizes. Seth gave this to her because he wanted to, even when he thought this was just a job for her. He’s given her a lot of things since they met, and she doesn’t mean the money. He’s given her his honesty, opened up to her even though she knows it’s hard for him. He’s given her his trust and his protection and his _love_. He’s given her his patience, hasn’t ever rushed her into anything too quick, always wants her to be sure. He's given her a family she thought she lost the chance at a long time ago when her parents passed away.

 _He’s given me his life,_ Kate realized in a sudden moment of clarity. Because, truly, he’s giving up everything he’s ever known to protect her and the family they’ve made together. Him and Richie, they could go to Carlos, tell him about Santanico. There’s always a chance Carlos would take care of the problem because Seth and Richie are valuable to him for the big deal, there at the Lords' request, but it’d be just another thing Carlos could use against Richie and Seth to make them do whatever he wants.

Their entire lives, the Gecko brothers have always lived in perpetual ferocity and sin. They lie and cheat and steal for a living, but since meeting Kate, they’ve said that they don’t want to do it anymore. That they regret fucking up her life just to help themselves. And now they’re willing to risk everything just to get out of it, to run away with her and Scott and get away from all the violence. They’re going to give it all up because of her, because Seth said that she’s made him realize he doesn’t want to be the bad guy anymore.

“There’s always risk in these kind of things,” Vanessa had said, softly, before they started making their goodbyes at the café, smiling at Kate with a sad grip to the corners of her mouth. “I need you to remember that, Kate. Make sure you don’t leave anything undone that you might regret.”

“Whoa, dude, you okay?” Scott asked in the middle of drying a plate, spinning it around and around like the hands on a clock, time ticking, Kate realized, time running out. “You kind of look like you’re having a vision, or something.”

Kate shook her head, snapping back into reality, all the things she still wants to do before it's too late. “I need to brush my teeth,” she answered dazedly, and left the kitchen so quick that Brando barked from where he was lying under the kitchen table, confused at her sudden movement.

Dashing up the stairs, Kate stumbled into the bathroom in Seth’s room— _their_ room, now, for all intents and purposes. She stumbled into the bathroom, flicked on the light, turned on the sink and grabbed her toothbrush. Fumbled around for toothpaste, started brushing, rinsing, spitting. Splashed cold water on her heated skin. After, she glanced up at her reflection and realized she was smiling like a giant idiot, laughed and fluffed her hair, measured herself up.

 _I don’t look like a little girl anymore,_ she realized, seeing new dips and curves to her frame for the first time, the roundness of her hips, breasts small but full. Her face was sharper than she last remembered, mouth full and experienced, eyes knowing. She realized that she looks like a _woman_ , young maybe, but a woman none the less. One who’s confident and strong and _in love_.

"Oh man," Kate whispered. "Not I know what Seth meant when he said he was totally fucked."

And so now she’s here, sitting on the steps, her feet bouncing, skirt swishing around her ankles like a chorus, because she’s not going to leave _anything_ undone that she knows she would regret.

When Seth comes in the door a few minutes later, she lets Richie and Scott and Brando assault him first. The latter jumps up and licks Seth’s face but he shoves the dog away fondly, laughing before giving his brother a hug, and then, Scott, too, because somewhere along the line they’ve become close. Seth slaps Scott on the shoulder when they pull apart and Scott retaliates by punching Seth in the arm, and Richie knocks them both on the head, and Brando dances in circles, wagging his tail. Kate laughs from where she’s sitting, watching her boys be rowdy and affectionate, happy. Seth looks up at the sound, eyes locking on hers, and the world stops like in all those cheesy romance novels, until suddenly he’s taking the few steps up to her, and she’s standing, and he embraces her, scoops her up, her feet leaving the ground as he spins her around like when they were dancing at their wedding.

She kisses him, hard and inviting, pouring everything she feels into it.

When she pulls back Seth’s eyes are still closed, and he says, very calmly, “Hey, Richie, how about you and Scott go rent a movie for later.”

Richie snorts from the entryway, rolls his eyes, but Seth’s opened his and is too busy looking into Kate’s to care. “How about Scott and I just go _see a movie_ , instead," Richie laughs.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Seth answers, and Kate smiles at him knowingly.

“What?” Scott says, not understanding. “I thought we were all planning to play Scrabble tonight and—” Richie turns to him and raises a brow tactfully, makes some secret motion to the boy, and suddenly Scott shuts up, nose wrinkling. “Oh. Uh, okay. See you guys later.”

Kate and Seth need no more invitation than that. She grabs his hand and rushes him up the stairs behind her, only half-attuned to the way Richie’s murmuring, “Let’s take the dog, too,” and Scott answering, “They don’t let dogs in at movies,” and Richie saying, “Maybe we’ll go to the park for a few hours, then,” and Scott, nauseated, hissing, “ _Hours_?!” before the front door slams shut behind them.

Kate trips into the bedroom with Seth hot at her heels, kicking the door shut behind them, already shrugging out of his jacket. Kate turns around and smirks, comes over to spread her hands up out beneath his shirt, feeling his pulse under her palms, muscles jumping at her touch. She pulls the garment up and off before straining onto her toes to kiss him, press her tongue softly into his mouth and make Seth moan as he cups the back of her head.

“What inspired this?” he pants after they pull apart, hands curving down over the bottom of her own top, tickling her skin.

“I missed you,” Kate whispers.

“I missed you too, baby girl,” Seth says, starts sliding her top up, and Kate shimmies out of her skirt while he does so, raises her arms and lets the separate pieces of fabric fall away. “I don’t want to go slow anymore,” she says after, reaching for his belt, pulling it out of the loops slowly, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes, tongue between her teeth.

“What’dya…” Seth starts, sees the purpose there in her eyes and blinks. “ _Shit_. Are you…are you _sure_?”

“Never been surer of anything,” Kate says, flicking the button of his jeans open, reaching inside of his boxers to touch him where he’s already hard and straining for her, Seth groaning before fisting her hair and kissing her again.

They stumble back over to the bed, Seth kicking his shoes and pants and underwear off as they go. Kate falls with her back against the comforter, Seth fitting up between her legs, pressing down into her, making her gasp. He gets her bra undone and she shrugs out of it quickly, tosses it onto the bedside lamp and they both laugh before he’s kissing her again, fingers stroking down her sides, her body on fire with nerves and anticipation.

He makes a trail with his lips from her face to her breasts, sucks a nipple into his mouth and teases her with his teeth. Kate shifts against him restlessly, crying out when one of his hands slips into her underwear and touches where she's wet and aching, thighs pressing hard into his hips. The entire room’s spinning with bright colors as he works her open with his fingers, and he feels firm and safe under her palms, nails mapping the lines of his back like a warn atlas, millions of places she’s already been but feels like she’s experiencing for the first time all over again.

“Roll over,” Kate murmurs after a moment, and Seth obliges, backs up and gets his head up against the pillows and lays there, waiting for her to decide what's next, eyes open and looking at her in a way that makes her hands shake, like she’s everything he’s ever needed right there in front of him.

Kate takes a moment just to look at him, at all his burns and scars. There’s a bullet wound from a job gone south when he was twenty-two in his left shoulder, so close to his heart, knitted tissue all soft and white as she leans to mouth at it, moves on to the slash below his ribcage from where he got his appendix taken out at fifteen, lick her way across to the other side where he’s got a barely distinguishable birth mark that she thinks looks like Orion’s belt. Seth makes a rumbling sound deep in his chest as she does all this, curses and stares up at the ceiling, breathing like he can’t get enough air into his lungs.

“God, I missed how fucking good you feel,” he says when Kate makes her way back up to his mouth, crawls over him, straddling his hips. Seth’s hands go to her waist, pressing in, leaving red marks there in the shape of his fingertips that she'll savor like a merit badge. “All soft and warm,” he bucks his hips up into hers, erection pressing against sensitive flesh, making Kate squeeze her eyes shut as she bites her lip. “Missed fucking you so bad, baby girl. Thought about you every night, about your pretty mouth on my cock, the way you taste and how your pussy clenches around my fingers when you come.”

“We’ve got time for that later,” Kate chuckles breathlessly, leans down to kiss him a little before rising up on her knees, slipping off her underwear; Seth takes the open to sit up and kiss at her breasts some more, suck a dark purple bruise at the slope of one above her heart and Kate gasps, fists her hands into his hair as they settle back down against the mattress, Seth's back to the headboard, legs trapped beneath hers and Kate's body curled up on his lap, desperate to be close, both of them just kissing and kissing and kissing.

“You really sure?” Seth asks against her jaw, rubbing his cock up between her folds, making Kate sigh and whimper and shake as the tip of him hits her clit on every down-stroke.

“ _Yes_ ,” she says, because she loves him and wants him inside of her so desperately she can’t stand it, doesn’t want to leave anything undone that she’ll regret.

Seth nods, reaches over for the nightstand but Kate stops him with a hand on his wrist. “Gotta get a condom,” he murmurs, glancing up at her almost shyly, like a schoolboy having sex for the first time, mechanics of the safe sex talk in his tone, and it makes her laugh, shake her head to lean down to kiss him again.

“I’m on the pill,” she says.

“You…” he starts, pulling away, sputtering.

“I got on it after that night at the concert,” she says, stroking her fingers down his cheek softly. Remembers sitting in the waiting room of the women's clinic, embarrassed down to her toes to ask the doctor because it was like asking her momma to buy her a training bra all over again, only different and way more grown up, and admitting private things to a stranger out loud. But Kate was more than ready for the actual responsibility the pills themselves implied. Still is, because, well, “I want..." Kate starts, bites her lip and tries again. "I want to feel all of you inside me, Seth, don’t want anything in the way.”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Seth breathes, grabbing at her frantically, jostling her in his lap, and she giggles but then his mouth is on hers, warm and insistent, and she kisses him back with all she’s got, rising up onto her knees a little, reaching down to wrap her hand around his cock and fitting him against her entrance. “Go as slow as you want, Katie,” he whispers. “Just tell me to stop and I’ll stop.”

“I’m not going to tell you to stop,” she says, holds his gaze as she starts to sink down slowly, letting out a little hiss through her teeth with every inch. It burns, she has to admit, stretch more than she’s used to, but she figures it's got to be like ripping off a band aid, better to get it over with all at once and keeps going. Seth rubs soothing circles into her skin and she closes her eyes, keeps pressing down until he’s seated fully inside of her and moans, feels filled to the brim and throbbing, but it hurts to the point it’s good.

“God _damn_ , holy shit,” Seth murmurs unprofoundly into her shoulder. “You feel perfect, sweetheart. All tight and hot— I could stay inside of you forever.”

“Mmm,” Kate says softly, moves her hips a little and swallows, nose scrunching up because it's still a little tender, until suddenly Seth’s slipping a hand down between them, thumb rubbing against her clit and she whimpers, digs her nails into his back and bucks up involuntarily, gravity pulling her back down and both of them exhale harshly from the feel of it, Seth’s free hand pressed into the small of her back, steadying her out.

“It feel good, Katie?” he asks, kissing at her neck.

She nods, pushes her teeth into his shoulder and cries out when he presses up into her suddenly, insides fluttering and tense, but also sick with pleasure. She grips tight to the tops of his arms, lifts herself up and presses back down, breathing out, the throb getting less and less, replaced with white-hot feeling.

“Fuck,” she says, repeating the motion again and again.

“That’s it, baby,” Seth murmurs. “Just like that… Fuck, yes, that’s it.”

He starts pressing his hips up into hers with purpose then, thrusts long and deep, and Kate makes a sound in the back of her throat, a little sob because it feels good, feels like dying and being reborn again and _oh_ , so that's what all those heroines in romance novels have always meant. Kate giggles despite herself at the thought, can't help it, too lost in sensations to have a filter.

"Somethin' funny, angel?" Seth grunts, thrusting up into her just a little harder.

Kate clenches around him, head falling back as he groans. "It feels so good, daddy."

Seth fists the hair at the back of her head and pulls her gaze forwards again after she meets his next thrust hard, making him curse, pick up speed. He holds her eyes with his own as he fucks up into her, so much passion and need there Kate thinks she could drown in it, be a happy dead woman probably. Because right now she feels so very, very alive, like her entire body is on fire, every nerve ending in overdrive. She can feel every inch of him against her, _inside_ her. Feels attuned and vulnerable to him in some primal way that she hasn't been able to be before, but Seth’s expression mirrors hers tenfold. And Kate realizes suddenly that this all is not just about the sex, but about the connection the sex allows them to make, how they're as close as they can get, actions speaking louder than the words neither one of them have ever been good at saying.

And Seth's so very tender with her through all of it, not too fast or too hard in his thrusts, but just enough, so full and good. Kate can feel her toes curling, coils low in her stomach, right there on the edge, kisses him hard and Seth groans, both of them falling back into the bed as Kate keeps moving atop him, chest-to-chest, knees against the sheets, his hands grabbing at her ass to keep her steady in the rhythm, pace quickening below her after a few minutes, desperate.

“Shit, baby, I think I’m gonna…” Seth starts, bites his lip and tries to slow down but Kate doesn't let him, keeps up the pace he's set and smiles when he pants, breath hitching the way it always does right before he comes.

“I want you to,” Kate says, because even though she’s not all the way there yet she doesn’t care, because she loves him and it all feels so good anyways, less like they’re doing it just to finish, more like they’re doing it just to be close.

“Fuck, _Kate_ ,” Seth says, and she feels him swell and move inside of her, hips messy and frantic as they press up and in. He comes hot and warm and deep into her and Kate cries out at the sensation, presses down into him and suddenly the world’s out of focus, room spinning, can’t think of anything but how good it feels, how much she loves him.

She slumps onto his chest afterwards, choking down air, bodies sweaty and sticking together. “Wow,” she says.

“Wow is an understatement,” Seth chuckles, rolls them over after a moment and Kate gasps as he slips out of her, feels wet and swollen, his and her come leaking onto the sheets and Seth just grins, kissing her. “You were so good, baby,” he murmurs, licking down her neck, her chest, the swell of her stomach.

“ _Sethhh_ ,” she whines when he starts mouthing up between her thighs, knows what he's doing and starts pushing at his head. “Too sensitive.”

“I just want a little taste,” he says, and when his tongue touches her clit she gives in because even though it’s very intense, it _does_ feel good, and she moans, eyes closing and head pressing into the pillows, thrashing. “Fuck, baby girl,” he mumbles, spreading her open with his fingers, making her gasp. “You’re so full of my come.” Kate blushes, lets him lift her knees over his shoulders, mouth at her until she’s nearly sobbing from it. “Can’t believe I got to be the first inside you, make you come around my cock, make you mine.” He holds her hips down into the bed when she bucks up at the words. “Like that baby girl, like hearing you’re mine?”

“Yes,” Kate says, nodding her head frantically, words tumbling out. “I like it, daddy.”

“Good, I like it, too,” Seth says, starts eating her out hungrily, making a mess, sounds obscene, but Kate likes this part also, _loves_ him, and she wants to tell him that, wants him to know in case she doesn’t get the chance to ever—

Somewhere from the floor Seth’s phone rings.

He groans against her thigh, shakes his head. “Go away,” he murmurs.

“It could be Richie,” she sighs, tries to pull away from him.

“Fuck Richie,” Seth says, but his grip loosens.

“I think he’d like that,” Kate laughs, scoots over to the edge of the bed and leans down to scoop Seth’s jeans off the floor, pull out his cell phone, still too heavy-headed to check caller I.D. before she flips it open stupidly. “Hello?”

“ _Ahh, Katelyn,_ ” Carlos says, and she can just hear the menacing smirk in his voice. Kate freezes, turns to glance at Seth who looks up from where he had his face pressed into the bed, pouting. He sees the fear in Kate’s gaze then, twists over to her and reaches for the phone right when Carlos asks, “ _How are you, **querida**?_ ”

“Um,” Kate says, glances at Seth who grimaces but motions for her to continue. _Have_ _to_ _play_ _it_ _cool_ , he mouths, because they both know they need to stay on Carlos’ good side in order to avoid his suspicion before the big deal. “I’m alright, thank you. How are you, Carlos?”

“ _Good, good,_ ” he says. “ _I’m assuming Seth is busy, since you have answered his phone,_ _no?_ " Kate starts to say that no, Seth can talk to him, but Carlos interrupts her before she can. _"No matter, I have called concerning the both of you, and the rest of your family, anyways._ ”

“Really?” Kate asks, chest seizing up in fear because what if he _knows_?

“ _Yes, of course,_ ” Carlos chuckles. “ _You see, I would like for you all to come to my house to have dinner with some of my friends and I tomorrow night, if it is not short notice?_ ”

“No, of course not,” Kate says, blinking, knowing Carlos expects that kind of answer. Seth raises a brow at her, trying to get closer and listen in, but she swats him away. “What time were you, um, thinking?”

“ _Around seven,_ ” Carlos says. “ _Make sure to dress formally._ ”

“Of course,” Kate says.

“ _Very good, Katelyn,_ ” Carlos says, happy at her complete acceptance to orders. “ _I will see **all** of you then. Don't be late._ ”

He ends the call and Kate simply stares at the phone for a moment before shutting it, shaking her head. “Well,” she says. “I guess we have our in for the dinner date.”

“What do you mean?” Seth asks.

“He said he wants us to come eat with him and his _friends_ ,” Kate frowns.

Seth slants his mouth, contemplates. “He mentioned something the other week about having a representative from the Lords coming soon to talk about the deal,” he says slowly, carefully after a moment.

“Do you think that’s what this is about?” Kate asks.

“I’m not sure,” Seth answers. “But for the sake of our heads, it better be.”

Kate sighs, shrugs, still too fucked out of her mind to care about their impending doom— and, oh man, she _really_ likes sex. “Great.”

“Hmm,” Seth says, leans in to kiss her shoulder, then her back, down, down before pulling her hips up, making Kate squeak as he kisses the swell of her ass, spreading her open with his fingers again. “Now that that’s done,” he says, laughing when Kate huffs, faking annoyance. He slaps her lightly on the butt for it and she cries out, entire body going hot, already eager to go for round two. “Where was I?” he asks, before leaning in to start licking at her again, making her hiss and fist her hands in the sheets.

“God,” she says breathlessly, knees shaking, but Seth holds her open, pressing his mouth against her clit and making her keen.

“Actually, the name’s Seth, sweetheart,” he jokes, and she just rolls her eyes, because, well, she loves him.

 

 

 

 

 


	12. To cherish the fact that you still have a pulse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves! We're back in business.

Kate wakes up the next morning to the phone ringing once again, grumbles and tries to slip out of bed to grab it but Seth’s grip around her waist tightens.

“Seth,” she sighs, shaking him awake.

“Hmm?” he mumbles, and she knows he understands her but is refusing to move.

She rolls her eyes and pokes him in the face. “Phone.”

“Ignore ‘em," he says, pressing his face against her chest and settling her more firmly into the bed.

“It could be Carlos again," Kate says, irrateness apparent in her tone.

Seth shakes his head, stubble rubbing against Kate's skin and she jumps from the way it tickles. “Fuck ‘im.”

Kate shakes her head at him but smiles fondly nonetheless, maneuvers so she can kiss Seth’s puckered mouth before prying his hands off of her. He groans dramatically, rolls over and presses his face down into the pillows, pouting like a little boy. Laughing, Kate moves off the edge of the bed and sets her feet on the floor, winces when she stands up.

Her limbs feel like Jell-O after everything that happened last night, and it’s tender and sore between her thighs. Gritting her teeth, she scavenges around on the floor for where they knocked Seth’s phone once she hung up from Carlos’ call last night. Finds it half-way under the nightstand and flips it open to answer, holding her breath for whose voice she’ll hear on the other line.

“Hello?” Kate asks.

“ _Kate?_ ”

Kate blows out a relieved breath. “Oh, Monica,” Kate says, entire body relaxing. “Hey.”

“ _Hey yourself,_ ” Monica teases, but it's warm and motherly and makes Kate smile just a bit. “ _Is Seth there?_ ”

Kate glances over to the bed where Seth mutters a curse and shakes his head into the pillow, holding up a hand sharply that says there’s no way he’s getting up yet. “He’s um, busy,” Kate says, barely catches Seth’s muttered _thanks_ as she searches around on the floor until she finds his discarded shirt from last night, shrugs it on and begins to button it up.

“What do you need, Monica?” she asks as she slips out into the hall so Seth can doze off for a little longer without her talking and keeping him up. It’s only fair, considering how late she kept him up last night -- they had sex _seven times_ and each round it seemed to last longer and longer, but, God, it felt good.

“ _There’s been some developments,_ ” Monica says, making Kate’s brow raise as she takes the steps down into the living, wincing a little because her thighs rub together with every step, dirty and sticky from last night. She decides that the first thing she's going to do after this conversation is shower, because hot water and soap sounds wonderful right now.

“What kind?” Kate asks, checking the entryway for Scott and Richie’s shoes— the latter is there, and for a moment Kate wonders why it’s only Richie who’s home when she realizes that it’s nearly afternoon by how high the sun is in the sky, and that Scott’s at school.

Reassured, she goes to sit on the couch as Monica explains that she and Vanessa have been keeping tabs on Carlos’ recent activity. Apparently he went to the airport last night to pick someone up, someone important because they got off of a private jet that isn’t registered in the United States’ aircraft system— Monica even rechecked the carrier number three times and, still, nothing came up, meaning the guest Carlos has received is not a good one.

“ _That was around five last night,_ ” Monica says. “ _Vanessa and I think it has something to do with the deal._ ”

“Carlos called us afterwards,” Kate says, expression furrowing contemplatively. “We’re going over for dinner tonight. Seth said that he had some associates of the Lords’ coming soon to talk about the deal, but Carlos invited Scott and me to go along tonight, so we were skeptical if that’s what it’s actually about.”

“ _Regardless if it is or not, you have to try and get as much information out of him as possible, Kate,_ ” Monica says, very seriously. “ _The Lords are very dangerous men with a lot of connections, so it isn’t only Carlos you’ll be screwing over on this job, but them, too. If you do it correctly, though, they’re not going to know. They’ll think Carlos played them, and you guys can get out before a war happens._ ”

“Would they kill him?” Kate asks.

“ _More than likely,_ ” Monica says. “ _At least, you’d better hope they do, or he’s sure as shit coming after you guys first thing._ ”

“ _Vanessa said we should just kill Carlos ourselves,_ ” Kate mutters, voice small.

“ _She’s not thinking clearly, then,_ ” Monica answers. “ _Carlos is your guys’ connection to the Lords, and I think her hatred of him has made her forget that. You need Carlos for this deal to transpire, otherwise you’re not going to get the money or be able to help his hostages._ ”

Kate swallows heavily, feeling stupid for a moment because she hadn’t wanted to consider any of this, wanted to ignore the gory bits of pulling a con on professional con men. The Lords have always felt like some made-up component to the story because she’s never known enough about them to actually feel like they’re involved with all of this. No one really even knows anything about them in the first place except that they're big, bad crime boses. Everyone knows their name, but not a soul knows who they are, not even Carlos.

“Do you think that we can actually do this?” Kate whispers, shrinking down into the couch as thoughts of failure begin to slam into her brain. What if they mess up? Even if Carlos doesn't catch them, what if the Lords find out what they did? “I’ve just been thinking about how to get past Carlos this whole time, Monica. But what about the Lords? Won’t they kill us if they catch on?”

“ _They would_ ,” Monica says, tone cold. “W _hich is why we need to know when and where this deal is, Kate. We need help, but the only group we can ask for that from is small. In order to make this job work, we’re going to have to hit both Carlos and the Lords after the exchange. That means that the Geckos have to get the money before the Lords see the shipment, and we have to get those people out before that._ ”

“What if we can’t?” Kate asks.

“ _Then you could just take the money and run,_ ” Monica says. “ _Leave those poor people to their cruel fate and have Carlos chase you down forever._ ”

“I don’t want to do that,” Kate says, her stomach turning. “I’m okay with Carlos chasing us— Vanessa’s been able to avoid him this long, so I know we could make it, too. But leaving those people? I can’t do that. I won’t.”

“ _Then we’ve got to get a better plan, Kate,_ ” Monica says. “ _If you can get those people out and safe, then maybe we’ll catch a break and the Lords will be angry enough with Carlos for fucking up that they’ll kill him themselves. It’ll give you guys an open to run. No matter what you’re always going to have someone after you, but at least this way you’ll save those people._ ”

“I feel like we’re in over our heads, though,” Kate sighs. “Like I fucked us over by taking Santanico’s deal...”

But, really, no one had seen any other options. It's either wait for Santanico to kill them and live in fear of Carlos until she comes calling, or get out. Even if they were to get the jump on Santanico, Richie had pointed out they'll still be living under Carlos' thumb for the rest of their lives, waiting for him to deem them worthless and get rid of all the lot of them. And now that they know what the deal truly  involves, that other people's lives are on the line, _innocent_ lives, they can't just sit back and let it happen.

Those with power and money have gotten away with treating other human beings like numbers for profit too long, and Kate refuses to live that way anymore. Will save those people from a life of enslavement and misery even if it kills her.

“ _There’s always another option, if you really think you can't do this, Kate,_ ” Monica says hesitantly.

“What?” Kate asks, voice breaking, scared.

“ _Turn yourselves in,_ ” Monica answers, but she's quiet, sorry in a way for having to say it, for having to consider it at all when she promised to help them get away from this. “ _Let me tell my department what’s really going on. We could infiltrate, stop them._ ”

“But Seth and Richie would go to jail,” Kate says, closing her eyes, shaking her head.

Monica sighs, and Kate knows she’s right. “ _We can’t drive a bargain for them, no. They’d have to admit to everything they’ve done for Carlos if they turned this in, and I can’t guarantee there’d be a deal for them and you and Scott both,_ ” Monica says. “ _The government isn’t as nice as seen on television, Kate. The only reason Vanessa even got a plea bargain is because we could never tie her to any crimes and she said that Carlos was using Seth against her, which bought her sympathy._ ”

“How’d she make it so that the government didn’t know Seth is involved?” Kate asks. “It says he works for the Madrigal shipping business on his files _._ ”

“ _Vanessa’s crafty with that stuff,_ ” Monica chuckles. “ _And Carlos does have a legitimate shipping business as an almost unbreakable cover, so Vanessa told us that that’s where she met Seth, but he didn’t know about any of the illegal activity, and that Carlos threatened to kill him unless Vanessa turned a blind eye. Not writing a report is way different than physically smuggling the drugs yourself, Kate. And once the government knows she lied for Seth, you’re all kind of fucked._

“ _Vanessa gave some big names, sure, but they didn’t charge her only because fraudulence is a small crime in comparison to everything else Carlos does. And it's guarenteed there'll be a snitch somewhere, Kate. Someone's gonna rat your boys out to get less time for themselves. And after what Seth and Richie have done to help Carlos, after the feds know that they were lied to about it, even helping us catch the Lords might not be enough._

" _Not to mention Carlos knows too many people on the board here. He might be able to rig it so that all the blame is on them, if he ever figures out they’re the ones who betrayed him-- he's always got a back-up or a scapegoat when it comes to legal proceedings. And regardless, there’s going to be something that Seth and Richie will be charged for if we bring the D.E.A. in on this. What we're doing is considered gorilla warfare, Kate. And it's very illegal and very brutal. We don't have the man-power on our own for the structure the D.E.A. uses,_ ” Monica says, almost sadly, like she wishes she could do more but knows she can’t. 

“And Carlos’ people will know where they are if Seth and Richie get caught,” Kate says, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. “We can’t run. They'd get somebody to kill them-- Carlos sells to a lot of people for a lot of money, and someone's going to be mad that they got screwed over because of Seth and Richie instead of thinking Carlos just fucked up.”

“ _Exactly,_ ” Monica sighs. “ _Violence happens all the time in prison. It’s not hard to infiltrate the system. You’re right in the fact that if Richie and Seth are thrown in there, they’d be nothing but sitting ducks._ ”

“So we can’t go to the D.E.A.,” Kate says.

Monica is quiet for a moment, battling with duty and honor. “ _Not if you guys want any chance at surviving this,_ " she finally admits, sounds hesitant and afraid. " _It’s the only reason I agreed to it— I knew Vanessa would kill me if she found out I let Seth be an idiot and try this alone with just you guys as backup. And, honestly, I know if I sent my team in there, there would be a lot more casualties. Drug lords see feds, it's open fire on everyone. Some of the victims could be hurt, and I could lose some good people._ "

"There's the risk the victims be hurt if we do it alone, too," Kate says, doesn't want to admit it but she won't be naive, won't ignore the risks.

" _That is true,_ " Monica admits. " _But both parties at the meeting will be small. Too many people draws attention, and Carlos is smarter than that. Vanessa knows people who are willing to help, but it's not as if we'll have an army. Less people to shoot at means less stray bullets, and easier attack methods. Besides, if feds are involved, they'll more than likely aprehend Carlos alive. And while I'd love for that bastard to do his time, I also know he's got enough connections around the world he can get out whenever he pleases to._ "

"Which means he'd come after us anyways," Kate frowns.

" _Yes,_ " Monica grumbles, seeming more than discontent with how easy it is for Carlos to slip through loops while they're here conspiring for weeks just to pull what is considered a small heist. Even with the hostages being involved, the government would consider it low on the totem pole of a security threat. The D.E.A. would want the dealers more than the hostages, and wouldn't waste a second selling Seth and Richie out even though they'd be the ones to lead the D.E.A. to the case in the first place.

"This sucks," Kate groans, sinking down into the couch defeatedly.

" _That's life, chica,_ " Monica sighs. " _But if this works, it can help people, Kate. Really help them. Someone will finally bring Carlos down, and those people will go free. The Geckos will get justice for Eddie, and your family will be safe... Even if we all have to lie about it the rest of our lives, I still say it's worth it to try._ "

"Even if it goes against everything you're supposed to be about?" Kate quips, wanting to be sure Monica is really okay with this, with lying and conning and stealing, a life she begged for Eddie to get her out of a long time ago.

Monica chuckles softly and it reminds Kate of her momma, makes her insides glow with long lost comfort. " _I may work for the goverment, Kate, but I am smart enough to understand that the system is not always just. Eddie might have been a crooked man, but he was a fair one. Carlos is not, and it's time he gets a dose of his own medicine._ "

Kate bites her lip, takes a deep breath. "I'll let you know what happens tonight," she says after a tense moment, determined not to let down all of the people counting on her.

" _You can do this, Kate,_ " Monica says, and Kate can hear that she has pride in her voice, and it's nice to know Monica believes in them. " _Good luck._ "

"Thanks," Kate says. "Call you later."

They hang up at the same time and Kate holds the phone in her lap, simply staring at it, trying to let her brain settle after all the information it's just had to file through. To say she's terrified about all of this is an understatement, but she knows that this is what she has to do. When she first met the Geckos, she had known something big was going to happen. She'd thought it was her and Seth getting married, but that, that was inevitable one way or another. Falling in love is quiet, but helping someone, that's loud. Like a symphony.

Kate thought her family would always be broken after her and Scott's parents died, but Seth and Richie have patched the holes. And by knowing what it means to have a family now, that's changed Richie and Seth. Made them realize they don't want to be the bad guys anymore. They want to stop them, save people, make things right.

If Kate had never agreed to marry Seth, had never loved him, they wouldn't be here right now, on the verge of saving so many people and bringing a snake like Carlos to justice. And that means it was all supposed to happen, right?

"I'd like to think it was fate."

Kate startles as Richie hobbles into the living room, sitting on the end of the couch next to her. "How do you do that?" she asks, squinting at him.

"Do what?" Richie smirks.

Kate rolls her eyes, stands up so she can finally go shower. Richie touches her wrist softly as she tries to walk past him, and turning her head on instinct, Kate meets his eye. Unfathomable, lustful, caring blue.

"You smell like Seth and sex, babe," he says, and Kate's entire body goes red. "I'd like to sink my teeth into you."

"I'm not a desert, Richie," Kate whispers, but she's breathless, heart pounding fast in her chest and her body on fire, so finely attuned to desire.

"I'd like to disagree with that," he says, and he pulls on her wrist, bringing her down to his level, smile showing the sharp points of his teeth. "I could just eat you up, Katie-cakes."

She swallows, doesn't know what to do, what this means, how much longer she can hold out--

Richie lets go of her wrist suddenly and she straightens, blinking. He stands and leans down to softly kiss her forehead before walking away into the kitchen. Still dumbfounded, Kate stays in place for a moment, hears shuffling at the top of the steps and looks up in time to watch Seth pad down the stairs softly, wearing just his pajama pants like always.

Kate licks her lips at the full view of his tattoo, grabs that arm first when he comes to her, pulls him towards her and Seth takes the oppurtunity to lean down for a kiss. It's long and lingering, his tongue licking her lips as he pulls away and Kate shivers.

"Morning," Seth says, enveloping her into a hug and nuzzling the top of her head with his nose.

She giggles. "You're finally up."

"Well _someone_ wore me out last night," he says, leans down towards her ear and teases, "I got you to cum _nine_ times Katie-- the way you looked, smelled, tasted, sounded... How you _felt_. That was the best night of my life, Kate."

Kate buries her face into his chest, glowing. "What was it before that?"

He doesn't answer her right away, hesitates.

"Seth?" she asks, looking up at him, seeing if he's okay.

Seth closes his eyes, and breathes, and Kate can tell he's going to say something that means a lot, is going to let her in. "Our wedding," he says, softly.

Kate's breath stutters. "Really?"

Seth nods, biting his lip-- Kate hops up on pointe feet and steals it from between his teeth with her own. He rumbles, folding her up in his arms and she can feel that he's hard against her hip, tongue heavy in her mouth like he wants to devour her. She'd gladly let him right here on the living room floor, too, if Brando didn't flop out from the other room and insist his way between the middle of them.

"N-n-NO! _Damnit_ \--" Seth curses, pried away from Kate as Brando's choosing ritual has pointed to him for wake-up pets. "Richie!" Seth shouts. "Control your dog!"

"He only listens to Scott now," Richie says breezily from the kitchen. Waits a moment before adding a small, "Traitor," with just a tinge of bitterness.

Seth groans, leans down to start scratching the dog behind his ears in defeat. "We live in a goddamn madhouse," he mutters.

Kate just laughs and hops up the stairs to finally go take her much anticipated shower.

 

* * *

 

**  
  
**

"I feel so stupid in this monkey-suit," Scott grumbles, pulling at his tie. "Why couldn't I wear the one from the wedding?"

"Because you never wear the same suit twice in front of men like Carlos, Scott. Makes you look powerless," Richie says, Seth helping him take the many front steps because by the fourth he's already hobbling.

"So men do try to trump each other with fashion," Kate says, staring at her feet so she doesn't slip in the stilletos Vanessa insisted she wear, roll backwards and take the rest of her family out with her.

"Men trump each other with _status_ , princess," Seth chuckles. "That whole alpha male thing."

"So men are just dogs, then?" Scott asks.

"Hey, you're a dude, too. Way to go Benjamin Arnold on us, toilet head," Richie scoffs.

Scott turns to look at Richie like he's grown wings. "Just you _seriously_ just call me _toilet head_?" he asks, astounded and slightly offended.

Richie rolls his eyes, wants to say something else everyone can tell, but they've reached the front doors by now and are silent in front of the guards there. The two men open the door for them and the Gecko-Fuller family waits for one hesitant second before going inside.

"Baby Face, Lepke," Richie greets them as he limps past, even though they're the same gaurds from last time.

An attendant greets them in the entrance hall and pats them down, something Richie and Seth had warned the Fuller siblings about earlier, as Carlos always does weapon checks when he has a guest over to reassure their safety in his care. Because if anyone is going to kill Carlos' guests, it's going to be him.

"But never on the carpet," Richie had quipped at the end of the explanation. "So if we're standing on carpet, we're good." He even went as far as to wink, make an okay sign with his hand, and wave it at them. It was totally not reassuring.

"Ah, _la familia Gecko_!" Carlos greets after they've all been deemed clear and led into the living room where Carlos and his guest are. " _Bienvenido, bienvenido. Ponerse comodo._ "

The family stays close together as Carlos and his guest come over to greet them, looking around to make sure there is no one else in the room, associates of the Lords singular instead of plural, apparently. And Kate can't help but think that whoever this singular guest is, he looks like a real slimeball. Even Richie seems hesitant to shake the man's hand, looking at it like it's disturbing him.

"May I introduce you all to Professor Aiden Tanner, Head Executive for the Lords," Carlos says, putting a proud hand on Tanner's shoulder. "Aiden, these are--"

"Oh, I already know all about the Gecko family," Tanner interjects.

Carlos' jaw tickes-- he hates being interupted. But Kate watches with annoyance as he composes himself and turns into Mr. Kiss-Ass once more. "Did your reseach, huh Aiden?"

"What kind of professor would I be if I didn't?" Tanner laughs, and the others all just shift uncomfortably because he laughs like a creep. When he recovers himself he looks at them and grins with big front teeth, skin sallow pale and eyes squinty behind his glasses and too-blonde hair. "Let's see, Richard and Seth Gecko, the big men for the deal," Tanner says, rolling his fists in jest and Kate tries very hard not to make a face.

"Yeah, that'd be us," Seth says, reaching out to shake Tanner's hand firmly.

 _Great,_ Kate thinks. _He's Mr. Kiss-Ass now, too._

Seth turns after the handshake and gesture to Kate and Scott. "And I assume you know of my beautiful wife, Kate, and our little brother, Scott." Kate bites her lip at him saying ' _our_ little brother,' feeling so proud and amazed at how close her family has become.

"Yes, of course, the Fuller siblings. I must say though, Mrs. Gecko, your pictures don't do you justice," Tanner grins, making a muscle in Seth's jaw tick and Kate tries really, really hard not to make a face. But it doesn't help when Tanner suddenly moves forwards, grapping Kate's hand and-- _oh God, surely he's not_ \-- _FUCK!_ \-- Kate's skin crawls as Tanner presses his cracked lips to the back of her hand, eyes going wide but. She. Will. Not. Make. A. Face.

Instead she smiles at Tanner and tries not to make a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. When he's out of her personal space she sighs in relief, glances over at Seth in time to catch how he's seething, grinding his teeth and flexing his fingers.

Luckily an attendant rings a bell and calls for dinner a few awkward seconds later, and even Carlos looks like he's relieved to be out of this situation. Kate's never been more thankful for weird rich people things in her life.

The table is set in vibrant shades of blue this time, and Carlos places Seth and Richie spaced across from Scott, Kate and Tanner while Carlos takes the head of the table, of course. Kate flinches when Tanner decides he's going to play his turn at Mr. Kiss-Ass and pull her chair out for her. The definition of eternal screaming, Kate looks over her shoulder at Seth who's just standing behind them, trying his best not to flip his shit. _Oh fuck,_ Kate thinks. _Professor chivalry here even went as far as beating him to the task. Bad idea, skippy. Very bad idea._

Kate had demanded to know why Seth can get so jealous a few weeks ago when they'd been laying in bed together post fooling-around. He'd gone off earlier that day with a guy in the mall who tried to come up and flirt with Kate in the food court while Seth was getting them something to it, and it just irritated her. She told him that she isn't a possession for him to puff his chest up all over about. Seth had sighed and said that it's because he trusts her, but not other people. She'd called bullshit on the classic line and while Seth had seem disgruntled about that, he'd sat for a moment and tried to think of another way to phrase it.

"You know I got abandonment issues," he said, finally. Kate simply nodded, curling up closer to his side; Seth used the arm he had wrapped around her to pull her in more so he could kiss her forehead. "It's just...I can't stand the thought of you not ever being with me, Kate." She was silent in answer, letting him say what he needed to, pressed her lips to his neck to reassure him she was right there, with him. "...The only other person I've ever felt like that with is Richie," he said, and his voice was soft, whispering secrets safer than letting the world hear.

And they were both quiet for a few moments, before Seth finally cleared his throat and loosened his tight grip on her. "Plus it doesn't help that you seem to be a flashing beacon for trouble, Mrs. Gecko."

"Do I now?" Kate laughed.

"Yes," Seth said, smoothly rolling her under him and leaning down to kiss her. "You're nothing but danger, princess."

"At least I have a daring dark knight to save me from the castle," she giggled, fingers threaded through the hair at the back of his head.

"Oh no," Seth smirked. "I'd be the one to keep you in the tower so I could have my wicked way with you."

"In that case," Kate said, hooking her legs around his hips and forcefully rolling him over on his back, grabbing for his wrists in the struggle and pinning them above his head as she straddled his lap. She knew he could break free if her really wanted, but he didn't even try. "Maybe you're the dragon, and I'm the knight and it's my job to slay you and save the princess."

"Who's the princess?" Seth asked, and they both seriously thought about it for a second before looking at each other and laughing.

"Princess Richard," Kate snorted into Seth's chest.

Seth chuckled with his whole body, shaking with laughter beneath her. "More like Princess Dick," he said, and Kate couldn't help the wild fit of giggles that came after that, both of them close and laughing into each other's skin.

So, based on Seth's trouble radar and insecure tendencies, the facial expression he's looking at Tanner with right now is about a 7/10 on the anger scale.

Carlos sees this and is quick to stop what could potentially be a really bad situation. "Seth, why don't you join us?" he all but commands.

That muscle in Seth's jaw ticks before he turns away and goes to his own seat. Kate finally sits down and looks down at her lap axiously after Tanner's taken his seat next to hers. Everyone's silent as the appetizers are carried out, some bowl of cold gaspocho that Kate thinks tastes like gluten free kale. She braves through it, not wanting to be rude; glances up and sees Richie just dipping his soup spoon in and out of the concotion, frowning. Turner slirps his spoonful next to her and, without thinking, Kate makes a face-- Richie notices of course, tries to hold in a laugh and Seth claps him one the back as a save, excusing him as if he coughed.

Carlos stares at the brothers with wariness for a moment before pulling his expression into a fake grin. "Yes, well, so as not to spoil the main course, I suggest we get business over with now, everyone."

Tanner stops his spoon halfway to his mouth and perks up. "Great idea, Carlito," he says, the nickname making Carlos' expression flash with disdain.

"Yes, well, I assume we all know the details of the deal, right Katelyn?" Carlos asks.

Kate sputters at the edge of her spoon, looks up with startled eyes.

"Anyways," Carlos says, satisfied with how uncomfortable she suddenly is. "I have suggested to Aiden that Katelyn and Scott will be valuable assets to use in the deal."

" _What_?" Seth asks, not quite keeping the sudden outrage out of his tone.

"Two siblings touring Mexico, that is not suspicious, Seth," Carlos says. "And when we enter the safe zone, I want Scott there to see the money exchange so he can learn the family business."

"And Kate?" Richie asks, tone rough, eyes on her with intense protectiveness.

"She will be helping Razor drive the truck," Carlos says, leaning back in his chair easy like the ultimate comic book villian.

"Razor Charlie?" Seth asks, and his voice is cold; Kate can't even look at the hardness of his expression.

"Yes," Carlos says.

Seth says nothing, and Kate can tell it's because he's stopping himself from doing something stupid. And while everyone else knows better and to leave it alone, Tanner opens his stupid mouth, of course.

"I think it's a great idea, Seth! A pretty girl like your wife driving a rig? The cops would pull her over to ask for her number, not because they were suspicious," Tanner laughs, and everyone else is silent, Carlos' earlier glee at making the Gecko's miserable faded.

"Woman," Seth says after Tanner has stopped laughing.

"Excuse me?" Tanner asks, confused.

"Kate is a woman," Seth says, looking up at Tanner with such a sharp expression it makes the professor look away almost instantly. "You called her a girl, but she's a woman."

For a moment Kate glows with pride, Seth so quick to her defense and agency, calling her by her name instead of _my wife_ which Tanner keeps referring to her as, like she's Seth's property or something.

"All I'm saying is you're a lucky man to have a wife like Katelyn, Mr. Gecko," Tanner says, trying to save himself.

It doesn't work at all. "I'm a lucky man for Kate to be with me, period," Seth says, and that effectively ends the conversation.

Kate knows that he and Richie would go on to argue with Carlos about her and Scott's involvement with the deal, but they all know it's of no use. Carlos has made up his mind to use the Fuller siblings as leverage so the Gecko's don't screw up. Kate tries to stomp down her inner panic at what could happen now that she and Scott are directly involved, how they're going to pull the con off if her baby brother now has a chance of getting hurt because of it.

Quiet and contimplative, Kate does not involve herself with the idle small-talk made throughout the rest of the meal. Chews the tasteless quail on her plate, the spicy sides. Can't even enjoy her wine or the bananas foster for desert, which is extremely disappointing.

After dinner is done, Carlos has everyone's wine glass refilled with a wine he says the full, complicated name of, stating it's vintage. Kate wonders if this is her fourth or fifth glass as she tastes it, and it's bitter and delicious and strong on her tongue.

"Damn, Carlito," Tanner barks after taking a large swig from his glass. "That's some good stuff."

"Only the best for an associate of the Lords, Professor," Carlos says, and his arrogant expression is enough to make Kate chug half her glass in annoyance.

"Whoa, babe," Richie says, cupping the back of her elbow. "Slow down on the miserable trophy wife act, huh?"

She rolls her eyes at him and follows the others as they go into what Carlos calls 'The Den,' though it looks more like something you'd see in The Phantom of the Opera, Kate can't help but think... _Oh crap, I did drink too much,_ she realizes in a lightbulb flash kind of moment, wonders for a terrified minute if she's turning into an alcoholic like her father had after Mama died.

"Cuba's finest, gentleman?" Carlos asks then, opening a heavy, velvet inlaid box with designer cigars inside, and Kate feels like she's in a period drama, only she's been allowed to sit with the men instead of being banished with the other ladies to the drawing room.

Tanner accepts with glee, Seth makes a noncomitted grunt and holds out his hand for one. Scott takes a step forwards but Kate pulls him back by his collar and gets her best mom face on for when he looks up at her, shaking her head disapprovingly. Scott sighs but stays next to her as Carlos approches Richie with the box.

"No thank you," Richie says. "Too heavy for me, can only do the Reds." He pulls a pack of cigarettes out from inside his jacket for proof.

"Then join the party with one!" Tanner cheers, and Kate winces as Carlos' expression turns very foul, because apparently cigar smoke is fine in here, but God forbid Richie smell it up with cheap cigarettes. "You too, Fuller siblings! Scott's eighteen, nothing bad about a little indulgence now that he's a man!"

Kate's mouth flattens, pissed that Tanner would defy her telling Scott he can't smoke, and she notices that Seth clips the end of his cigar with extra force than necesarry, just as offended as she is, if not more.

Caught in the middle, Scott looks up at Kate for direction. "He can have a red," she says, grittingly. "But no cigar. It could make his asthma flare up."

"Understandable," Carlos says, but Kate can tell he isn't pleased. "I assume the lady will have a cigarette as well-- a cigar may be too much for your fragile lungs, Katelyn."

Still seething from Tanner's earlier misconduct, Kate has enough adrenaline left over not to flinch at Carlos' words. Instead she takes the cigerrette Richie gives her and leans in for a light, inhaling like a pro and blowing the smoke out through her nose.

"Well don't you have a wild one!" Tanner guffaws, looking over at Seth appraisingly.

Seth just stares at the professor, lights his cigar and puffs like an angry dragon. That expression combined with the way Scott coughs on his first inhale but tries to act tough and swallows it down makes Kate want to burst out in nervous laughter.

Instead she finishes off her glass of wine and doesn't protest when Carlos rings an attendant in to refill it. Richie looks at her warninly but she just takes a guilty sip and puffs away anxiously at her cigarette.

"So, Aiden," Carlos says after everyone's settled, putting them all back on edge. "I remember you telling me that there is something you need to talk to Richard about in private?"

"Ah, yes," Tanner smiles, and the Gecko brothers share a look of distress. "Relax, boys, nothing harmful. It's just some details about Richie's part in the deal I'd like to go over with him one on one so he can understand the mechanics of it, and see if he has any thoughts on how to make his job more precise-- fit it to his skills."

"We can sit and listen," Seth says, older brother quick to defense.

"Come now, Seth," Carlos says, clapping Seth on the back and making him stiffen. "Aiden doesn't bite."

"Not unless you want me to," Tabner winks at Richie.

Kate blinks as suddenly the glass in her hand is gone, turns to stare at Richie in time to see him chugging it down after Tanner's looked away. _Poor kid,_ she thinks, because being alone in a room with a creep like Tanner is enough to make even the strongest man alive want to run right out the door.

"So, Seth, Katelyn, Scott, why don't you all follow me back into the living room," Carlos says, and they all know they have no choice.

Quickly, Kate reaches over and squeezes Richie's hand in reasurance; he barely lets her go as she follows the others to leave. When the door shuts behind her Kate flinches. She wants to believe that Tanner won't hurt Richie, but with these people, she can never be sure and it makes her heart drum like a frightened bird in a cage.

Once they're far enough away from the den that Tanner and Richie won't be able to hear them anymore, Carlos strikes quick like a snake, grabbing Seth by the arm and slamming him against the wall. Kate gasps and steps forwards to help Seth, but he gives her a look that says she needs to stay still-- Scott grabs her hand and holds her in place, and she turns his plam white from how hard she grips it.

"You need to get control over yourself very quickly, Seth," Carlos threatens, voice like steel. "I don't care about your petty jealousy because Tanner thinks your wife is attractive-- he is a very important man to the Lords, Seth. Our direct link. And I won't have you screwing that up because you feel the need to defend your territory." Arm barred across Seth's chest, Carlos shoves him back into the wall before pushing away, straightening out his jacket.

Seth stays back against the wall, hands clenched into fists.

"Now, I am going to give you a moment alone with your wife in the hopes that she will be able to calm you down," Carlos says, glares at Kate with the order and she grits her teeth, wants to rip his throat out with her bare hands. "Come, Scott, I'll give you a tour of the house while the happy couple has their talk."

"Uh..." Scott wavers, and Kate crowds closer next to him, doesn't want Carlos alone with him for a second.

"Relax, Katelyn," Carlos chuckles, holding up defensive hands. "I promise not to harm Scott. I simply want to show him the life he can have if he's good at the job."

"Scott wants to be an artist," Kate says, nearly snarls because how dare Carlos want to bring her baby brother into this nasty, wicked lifestyle.

Carlos scoffs. "It seems I shall have to have a talk with you about frugality during our tour then, Scott."

Scott looks up at Kate with an expression that says _thanks a lot_ , and she just takes in a deep breath, hesitant to let him go when Carlos comes to steer him away down the hall, leaving a very angry Seth and Kate to each other.

"I fucking hate him," Kate says, squeezing her eyes shut in digust.

She opens them again when she hears Seth push off the wall, stride towards her with purpose and grab her hand. He begins pulling her the opposite way from where Carlos and Scott went, down the long hall until they reach a cooridoor of dark stairs.

"Where are we going?" Kate hisses, has to leap just to keep up with Seth's frenzied pace, stumbling every few steps because that last sip of wine has managed to make the world spin.

And he doesn't answer her at first, which makes her even more pissed off, about to open her mouth and demand it out of him when they reach the bottom of the stairwell in front of a large wooden door. Seth opens it quickly, pulls Kate inside, and kicks the door shut.

The room they're in is dark, illuminated only by the high sinking sunlight coming in through the few industrial windows of the space. Kate's eyes adjust after a moment and she can make-out the details of cars-- lots of them, some old, some new, some ridicuously lavish.

"Is this the garage?" Kate wonders aloud.

Instead of answering her Seth pulls her forwards once more, curves around a couple vehicles and stray work stations until they're near the back of the room, stopping in front of a familiar sight. Kate raises a brow at seeing the old van again, still as shabby as ever. She looks at Seth skeptically, wondering what his point is when suddenly Seth yanks the back door open, and before Kate can ask what the heck he's doing, his mouth is on hers demandingly, his tongue heavy and desperate against hers when she gasps.

She breaks away from him with force. "Not here," she says, looking around alarmingly at the space.

"Yes here," Seth says, pressing a hand into the small of her back and arching her body into his. Kate stares at him with astonishment, hypnotized by the commanding tone of his voice, the desire she hears there. "If I have to think about that fucker's hands on you for one more second, I'll rip his head off, Kate," he says, looking into her eyes and she knows he's serious. "I'm the only one who gets to touch you like that, understand?"

"I didn't know he was going to--" Kate says, cuts herself off when she sees the look on Seth's face, his hands possessive but warm and needy on her.

"Do you understand, Kate?" he asks again, and she knows he's on the verge of panic, afraid for his brothers, livid at how Tanner disrespected Kate. He needs control right now, needs an outlet to filter all the adrenaline in his blood.

And Kate knows what he needs to hear, and is completely ready for what it will lead to because she'll do anything for him, and, honestly, the way he's looking at her now, like he'd tear the world apart for harming a hair on her head-- _like he wants to sink his teeth into me,_ Kate thinks, remembering Richie's earlier words-- she wants him. There's something about his erratic side, his primal and protective nature and the way he fights for his family.

Plain and simple, it's fucking hot and she doesn't care if they're in Carlos' garage anymore, that someone could walk in on them at any moment-- she suddenly needs Seth inside of her so badly she could cry.

Instead she says, softly, "I understand, daddy."

Seth groans, kisses her hungrily and they topple into the van, Seth pulling up her pretty blue dress Vanessa got for her to wear, not bothering to slide her underwear off but rather just _rip_ them instead-- Kate startles at the sound of fabric tearing, cries out when Seth sinks his teeth into the top of her breast in the next second.

"Fuck, Seth, please..." Kate says when he presses his hand up between her thighs, sinking two fingers into her without warning, and she's wet but not enough that it doesn't sting, make her breath stutter when he starts fucking his fingers in an out of her hard.

"What do you want, baby girl?" he asks, but all Kate can do is coo in response. "Want me to fuck you, Katie? Show you who you belong to?" Seth asks, voice warm against her throat as he kisses and nips at her skin.

Kate nods helplessly, wants him so much it hurts. Seth kisses her dominating and sloppy before leaning back to undo his belt and unfasten his slacks, pull them and his boxers down to free himself, hard and dripping with precum. Kate licks her lips as she watches him stroke himself a couple of times, head spinning from the wine and terror and how turned on she is right now.

"Want to taste, baby?" he asks, and Kate bites her lip coyly, lets out a soft squeak as Seth grabs the back of her head and pulls her forwards; she complies obediently and lets him fuck her mouth how he wants, simply holding his hips and letting Seth direct the rest, cursing when she nearly takes all of him, lets go only when Kate begins to gag softly.

She pulls away from him, mouth sticky with spit and and arousal. "God, I love how your lips swell when you suck my cock, angel," Seth says and Kate smirks at him, leans back in to take him in her mouth again, swirling her tongue around the head of him which she knows drives him crazy, humming with joy when Seth groans her name and thumps his head back against the side of the van.

He presses her head back down again after a few moments and Kate relaxes herself, takes him as deep as she can, throbbing and needy between her legs, feels like she's high from all the adrenaline and lust in her system as Seth holds her head in place, gets her to take all of him with slow encouragement. "That's it, baby, take it...just a little more, angel, just like a good little girl...fuck, _Katie_."

After he lets her go and she pulls away, looking up at him slyly for how easily she can make his knees shake, Seth all but tackles her to the ground. She moans as he forcefully pulls her thighs apart, grabs her wrirsts in one hand and holds them over her head as he abruptly enters her, pressing in to the hilt and Kate clenches, flutters, pulses as she tips her head back and cries out breathlessly.

"That's it, Katie. Feels good when I fill you up, huh, baby girl?" Seth asks, fucking into her with slow, deep strokes, making her head spin because it's too much and not enough all at once.

"Seth..." she whines, arching up into him, the hand not holding her wrists cupping her jaw, holding her steady as he kisses her possessively.

"You're mine, Kate," Seth says.

"I'm yours," Kate echoes, feels the way Seth is beginning to calm down, thrusts less like torture and more like need, sharp and full and quick, filling her up over and over and all she can do is take it, head spinning with how good she feels, Seth at the root center of every thought she has.

Seth groans, fits his face into her neck as he continues to fuck her, Kate's toes curling because she's already so close, right on the edge as Seth whispers desperately into her neck. "Just wanna keep you safe, baby. Need you, Katie. Need you so fucking much."

The way he sounds so broken when he tells her these secrets, like he can't live without her, finally makes Kate shatter. She cums hard, all white hot sensation and phosphones behind her eyelids, sobbing Seth's name as he fucks into her with another sharp thrust and ravels apart himself, cumming warm and wet inside of her, making Kate whine as it sends aftershocks of sensation through her.

After, they both lay there, Seth still inside of her as they catch their breath and begin to calm themselves down. A few minutes later Seth pulls out of her and Kate grimaces at how swollen and wet she feels, body flushed and Seth's teeth marking her skin everywhere. She watches hesitantly as Seth sighs and tucks himself back into his slacks, zips and buckles and then just sits at the edge of the van, shoulders hunched.

Kate braces herself for discomfort as she moves behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing one of her cheeks to his. Seth reaches up and grabs at a curl of her hair, twirling it between his fingers idly.

"I don't know what I'll do if anything happens to you because of this fucking job, Kate," Seth says, and he sounds so lost and hopeless.

She swallows, holding him tighter because she doesn't know what to say, cannot promise him that everything is going to be alright no matter how much she wants to.

 

* * *

 

After cleaning up and making themselves presentable again-- Kate bitching at Seth for runing her underwear the whole time-- the couple heads back up to join the others. They make it back to the outside of the den at the same time as Carlos and Scott, the former rolling his eyes when he notices the love marks on Kate's collar that her dress can't fully cover.

"I see you found a way to tame the beast, Katelyn," Carlos says, and she doesn't miss the haughtiness in his tone.

"Yep," Kate says, and Carlos doesn't have time to glare at her for her snippiness because within the next moment the den doors are opening, Tanner walking out grinning like he's won the lotto and Richie looking drained, shoulders heavy.

"So," Carlos say, putting on his fake grin. "How did it go gentleman?"

"Fantastic!" Tanner says, clapping Richie on his back, who barely even wavers at the contact.

"Very good!" Carlos smooses. "Well, I am so very glad you all got the chance to meet each other then."

"Yeah, it was a real hoot to finally meet the infamous Geckos. And of course, you too, Mrs. Gecko," Tanner says, bowing towards her like a knitwit. "It was an honor."

Kate doesn't stop herself from making a face this time, leans into Seth's side when he puts a protective arm around her. "You too, Mr. Tanner," she says, voice flat.

Carlos has the Gecko-Fuller family seen out after that, says he expects them back soon for debrieving about Kate and Scott's roles in the deal. Everyone is quiet as they leave and get into the car. Put a good mile between them and Carlos' house before Seth looks at his brother in the rear-view mirror, expression worried.

"What happened, Richie?" he asks.

Richie is quiet for a long moment, only looking up to acknowledge anyone when Kate sets a loving hand on his knee. He looks at her, his eyes somber, and for a moment she's alarmed because it looks like something inside of him is broken.

"He gave me a knife," Richie says.

"A knife?" Seth asks, pulling a very confused and uncomfortable look.

Richie nods. "He said that the Lords wanted me to have it."

"Didn't he say anything else?" Scott asks, concerned.

"Yeah," Richie says, but he doesn't elaborate.

"Well," Seth says, impatient. "What was it?"

Richie shrugs, looks back down at his lap. "I don't remember."

Seth glares at the dashboard because of the answer, anger and worry written all over his face. Kate keeps her eyes on Richie the whole way home, watching the way he zones out, doesn't even touch his cigarettes though he has a tick about smoking two on every ride to and from Carlos' house. Yet Richie is silent, still. It's only when they're pulling into the driveway and Seth has turned off the engine that Richie speaks again.

"I know where the deal is," Richie says.

Everyone in the car freezes, looking at him imploringly.

Richie doesn't meet any of their glances, just stares off to somewhere far away as he says, "It's a bar down in Mexico."

"Get the name of it?" Seth asks.

Richie nods. "Yeah," he says, tone distant, body rigid. "The Titty Twister."

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
